Follow the Yellow Brick Road — To a Cure
By Raymond Drumsta Journal Staff
ITHACA — The results are in. The Tompkins County Ninth Annual Relay for Life netted a grand total of $180,000 to benefit the American Cancer Society
The results, including team awards, were announced during the relay's closing ceremonies held at Ithaca College Thursday evening.
The ceremonies were postponed because of a thunderstorm that cut the relay short at about 7 a.m. Saturday. About 50 people gathered at the college's Emerson Suites to hear the results and watch an 18-minute slideshow which featured pictures of the event and songs like “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” from “The Wizard of Oz,” “Ease on Down the Road” from “The Wiz” and Elton John's “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.”
The relay's theme this year was “Follow the Yellow Brick Road — To a Cure.” Many of the slideshow pictures showed event participants dressed as characters from the “The Wizard of Oz.”
The slideshow also gave a break down of event participants, which consisted 1,100 walkers in 71 teams, including 185 cancer survivors.
The storm effectively ended the fund raiser, in which event participants take turns walking or jogging around the Lansing High School track. Event managers cancelled it when the thunderstorm forced them to evacuate the track. The ceremonies' cancellation also prevented a final tally of money the relay raised.
Though the relay fell short of its $200,000 goal, Deborah Mohlenhoff, the local relay chairperson, said the turnout was inspiring.
“The bottom line figure is not as important to me as the amount of people who came out to support this cause,” she said.
She also thanked event participants for their flexibility and understanding when the thunderstorm occurred.
The “IC Hope” from Ithaca College team raised $14,250, the most money overall, and the new team to raise the most money was Family Medicine, with a total of $5,200.
Anne Woodard of Ithaca College was recognized as the individual to raise the most money, with a total of $4,900, and the team that raised the most per capita was “Angels for Abby,” with a total of $9,248.
Mohlenhoff also announced the teams which gained the most spirit points — “IC Hope” team and the Ithaca Housing Authority team, with 11,940 and 7,280 points respectively.
Teams get spirit points when team members quit smoking, get early cancer screenings or recruit others for the relay, Mohlenhoff said.
“It's a really cool incentives program because it's mission driven,” she said. The two teams will receive a complimentary cruise on Cayuga Lake aboard the M/V Manhattan courtesy of the Cayuga Lake Cruises, she added.
Alison Knoth, the community executive for the American Cancer Society, said 60 percent of the money raised will go toward cancer research, and 40 percent will go toward American Cancer Society programs in Tompkins County.
These programs include the Man to Man Prostate Cancer Education and Support Program and Road To Recovery, which provides transportation for cancer patients to and from chemotherapy or radiation treatment, according to the American Cancer Society website.
The Tompkins County 10th Annual Relay for Life is scheduled for July 13 and 14, 2007, she said.
http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060721/NEWS01/607210348/1002
ITHACA — The results are in. The Tompkins County Ninth Annual Relay for Life netted a grand total of $180,000 to benefit the American Cancer Society
The results, including team awards, were announced during the relay's closing ceremonies held at Ithaca College Thursday evening.
The ceremonies were postponed because of a thunderstorm that cut the relay short at about 7 a.m. Saturday. About 50 people gathered at the college's Emerson Suites to hear the results and watch an 18-minute slideshow which featured pictures of the event and songs like “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” from “The Wizard of Oz,” “Ease on Down the Road” from “The Wiz” and Elton John's “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.”
The relay's theme this year was “Follow the Yellow Brick Road — To a Cure.” Many of the slideshow pictures showed event participants dressed as characters from the “The Wizard of Oz.”
The slideshow also gave a break down of event participants, which consisted 1,100 walkers in 71 teams, including 185 cancer survivors.
The storm effectively ended the fund raiser, in which event participants take turns walking or jogging around the Lansing High School track. Event managers cancelled it when the thunderstorm forced them to evacuate the track. The ceremonies' cancellation also prevented a final tally of money the relay raised.
Though the relay fell short of its $200,000 goal, Deborah Mohlenhoff, the local relay chairperson, said the turnout was inspiring.
“The bottom line figure is not as important to me as the amount of people who came out to support this cause,” she said.
She also thanked event participants for their flexibility and understanding when the thunderstorm occurred.
The “IC Hope” from Ithaca College team raised $14,250, the most money overall, and the new team to raise the most money was Family Medicine, with a total of $5,200.
Anne Woodard of Ithaca College was recognized as the individual to raise the most money, with a total of $4,900, and the team that raised the most per capita was “Angels for Abby,” with a total of $9,248.
Mohlenhoff also announced the teams which gained the most spirit points — “IC Hope” team and the Ithaca Housing Authority team, with 11,940 and 7,280 points respectively.
Teams get spirit points when team members quit smoking, get early cancer screenings or recruit others for the relay, Mohlenhoff said.
“It's a really cool incentives program because it's mission driven,” she said. The two teams will receive a complimentary cruise on Cayuga Lake aboard the M/V Manhattan courtesy of the Cayuga Lake Cruises, she added.
Alison Knoth, the community executive for the American Cancer Society, said 60 percent of the money raised will go toward cancer research, and 40 percent will go toward American Cancer Society programs in Tompkins County.
These programs include the Man to Man Prostate Cancer Education and Support Program and Road To Recovery, which provides transportation for cancer patients to and from chemotherapy or radiation treatment, according to the American Cancer Society website.
The Tompkins County 10th Annual Relay for Life is scheduled for July 13 and 14, 2007, she said.
http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060721/NEWS01/607210348/1002
