2015 Relay for Life Kickoff event to take place Jan. 14

Friday, January 2, 2015

Relay for Life of Putnam County-DePauw is taking its event back outdoors this year as construction is now complete on Blackstock Stadium at DePauw University.

Planning for the event is well under way and those interested in participating in this year's event are invited to attend its annual kick-off celebration on Wednesday, Jan. 14 from 6-7 p.m. at the Area 30 Career Center.

"We are going to be back outside this year," Community Event Chairman Dick Shuck noted. "The only reason we would go inside is if we had weather problems. After listening to the feedback from people in the community, many of them said they'd rather be outside than inside. This also allows for larger crowd participation. You can almost do three times as much set-up as you can when you go inside."

With the event relocating back to the football field, Shuck noted that there will be some restrictions this year as the field is now astro-truf, thus everything must be free standing or weighted down with such things as concrete blocks or barrels.

"In prior years we were restricted due to the construction going on," Shuck explained. "This year however, you can't stake anything down because it's all astro-truf. As long as people understand that you won't be allowed to drive stakes into the ground it will be a wonderful event. We will also have people out there to monitor that sort of thing."

Relay for Life is the Cancer Society's signature event, dedicated to increasing awareness and raising funds to fight cancer. Teams of family, friends and co-workers camp out, taking turns walking the track.

During the event, participants and visitors will have a chance to celebrate the victory of area cancer survivors during the survivors lap; remember those we have lost to the disease during the poignant luminaria ceremony; and participate in the fight back ceremony that gives everyone a chance to proclaim their way of taking action against the disease.

Residents are invited to attend the kickoff celebration to learn more about the upcoming 2015 Relay for Life and how they can become part of an event that will pave the way to a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

In 2014, the Putnam County Relay for Life raised more than $90,00 to help in the fight against cancer and although the event is nearly four months away, now is the time to get involved organizers stress.

"We are doing a lot more recruitment of new teams this year," Shuck added. "The silent auction is now being handled by local volunteers, where in years past it had been done by student groups. This year, organizers have also been meeting every two weeks. We have a lot more community people involved now than in the past and we've really been trying to pair up students with community leaders to help us this year. People have really stepped up."

Committee members will be on hand to answer questions and register teams during the event. Desserts will also be provided for those in attendance by Area 30 culinary arts students.

Donations can be made to the local Relay for Life event, and community members can also start or join a team by visiting www.relayforlife.org/putnamcountyIN.

The 2015 Relay for Life of Putnam County/DePauw University will take place on Saturday, May 2 at Blackstock Stadium from noon to 12 a.m.

For more information on how you can get involved or about the kickoff event, persons may contact Shuck at 301-0409 or dickshuck@depauw.edu. Those planning on attending the event are asked to RSVP to Shuck by Wednesday, Jan. 7.

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