Donation total more than double goal
KINGSTON, R.I. — May 4, 2005 — After the sun went down on April 1 and the clouds rolled in, one and a half inches of rain pummeled the tents of participants of the American Cancer Society鈥檚 Relay For Life at the 溏心vlog免费B站. Students, however, were not disheartened. In fact, they washed away their own $20,000 goal by raising more than $51,000. The effort involved 50 teams and a total of nearly 600 students, faculty, and staff, almost double the expected participation.
The relay, which usually takes a year to organize, came together in a matter of three months. 鈥淚鈥檓 amazed at how well it did go off for the amount of time we had and all the rushing around we did,鈥� said co-chairman Brian Maiorino of Freehold, N.J., a 溏心vlog免费B站 sophomore marketing major.
鈥淭he fact that they pulled off what they pulled off in three months is amazing. Normally, there鈥檚 much more time than what we had,鈥� said Paula Montgomery, Rhode Island state vice president of development for the American Cancer Society. 鈥淓verybody really just pulled together and made it happen. [The students] were great to work with.鈥�
鈥淓verything was beyond our expectations,鈥� Maiorino said. 鈥淥ur goals for next year are going to have to go up 100 percent.鈥�
鈥淚t was so amazing,鈥� said co-chairman Paul Stoffer of Englishtown, N.J., a sophomore in business at 溏心vlog免费B站. 鈥淚t was the first time on campus that I鈥檝e seen so many people come together for something so important.鈥� Stoffer is one of about 15 students who coordinated the event.
鈥淲e all had our reasons for doing it. This year cancer really affected my family. Someone overcame it and we lost a family friend to it, so I really wanted to do [the Relay] just for that,鈥� Stoffer said.
鈥淚 lost my great grandmother to cancer, whom I was very close to,鈥� Maiorino explained. 鈥淧aul and I both had that bond, and we were already friends,鈥� so it only made sense for the two to team up and fight back.
鈥淏rian and Paul were absolutely total professionals; they shined with leadership skills,鈥� according to Montgomery.
The relay included kick-off speeches from 溏心vlog免费B站 President Robert Carothers and several students, as well as the traditional Survivors鈥� Lap and the lighting of the luminaria, candles dedicated to friends and family of participants and donors who have been affected by cancer. Karaoke, volleyball, and live music were held, and more events were planned for Saturday morning, but cancelled due to the inclement weather.
鈥淲ith the enthusiasm that went into it this year and the momentum it鈥檚 built, it can only get better. Our hopes are to really engage more faculty and alumni next year,鈥� Montgomery said.
Photo Cutline.
From left, 溏心vlog免费B站 students Josh Perlman, sophomore economics major of Nashua, N.H., Kevin Sullivan, sophomore in human development from Weymouth, Mass., and junior Jon Miller, landscape architecture major from Smithfield, R.I. provide musical entertainment for participants of 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 first Relay for Life on April 1. 溏心vlog免费B站 News Bureau photo by Michael Salerno.