Ashley Yenick ’14 Copy Editor

Retired New England Patriots player and cancer survivor Joe Andruzzi gave a speech at Relay For Life this year on April 4, 2014.

This year’s Relay For Life at Merrimack was a monumental one. On April 4, 2014, Merrimack’s Relay For Life raised over $55, 150.80 for the American Cancer Society and made school history by being the most successful Relay For Life at Merrimack to date (including number of participants and amount of money raised). Relay For Life broke their personal goal of $50,000, raised $53, 796 by the end of the event, and the total still continues to climb! The money raised goes towards cancer research, education, advocacy, and patient services. The Merrimack community came together on April 4 with 511 participants and 38 teams that were a part of the 12-hour overnight event in the MPR. Not only did the Merrimack community raise $55,150.80 for The American Cancer Society, they also had a night filled with fun, games, and even had a celebrity attend.

Merrimack’s Relay For Life Planning Committee meets Patriots player and cancer survivor Joe Andruzzi

To start off the night, Gabriella Angelini ’14 gave an opening speech about her experience with cancer, and we celebrated the cancer survivors within the Merrimack community, whom walked the first lap proudly to show that they overcame cancer. Retired New England Patriots player and cancer survivor Joe Andruzzi stopped by to give an inspirational speech on his experience with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and disclosed to the Merrimack community that this was his first collegiate Relay For Life gave a speech at. During the Luminaria ceremony, Dr. Warren Kay and his wife Nancy Kay gave a heartfelt and moving speech about their experiences with cancer. Along with the amazing inspirational speeches, there were also activities like Tie Dye, Make Your Own Stress Balls, ‘90s Trivia, Mr. Relay Competition and games that took everyone back to the ‘90s. One of the many games people enjoyed at Relay For Life was Legends of The Hidden Temple, a ‘90s favorite game that originally aired on Nickelodeon, and more activities like a photo booth, caricature artists, and a smoothie bike from Sodexo. All in all, Relay For Life as a whole was an up-beat, heartfelt, and fun event.

Together, we can help make a world with less cancer and more birthdays. Help Merrimack finish the fight and donate at RelayForLife.org/Merrimack to create a difference in the fight against cancer.