Support Relay for Life

To the Editor:

This Saturday April 30th brings the return of an annual tradition to our community. For the fifteenth time, residents of Putnam County, Greencastle, and DePauw University students, staff and faculty will come together for twenty-four hours, united in the fight against cancer at Relay for Life on DePauw's campus. Greencastle is one of more than five thousand communities that host Relay events each year, and Putnam County's Relay is always among the most successful of the Great Lakes Region.

Funds raised through this annual event allow the American Cancer Society to finance cancer research efforts, provide assistance for those suffering from cancer, support cancer survivors, and provide some of the most credible, reliable resources about the disease, treatment and prevention through their website. Individuals in our community are direct beneficiaries of these programs. Since the American Cancer Society held the first Relay for Life in 1985, significant advancements in treatment and prevention have been made.

In Greencastle, Relay embodies the spirit of our community. Relay has helped to foster a strong partnership between the City of Greencastle and DePauw since the first annual event in 1996. Because of our ability to work together during the last fifteen years, we have united to raise more than 1.5 million dollars towards finding a cure. Rather than succumb to the things that often divide us, for twenty-four hours each year we come together for the common purposes of celebrating our survivors, remembering those who have lost loved ones, and fighting back against the horrendous disease. Cancer's effects are far-reaching. It touches our parents, our neighbors, our sisters, our brothers, our friends- no one person can completely escape its grasp. Because of its universality, the fight against cancer brings out the best in our community and demonstrates our tremendous potential when we work together. There is much work to be done in the fight against cancer, but our community's generosity each year is inspiring and humbling.

As a long-time Greencastle resident and DePauw student, it has been a tremendous honor to serve as a Co-Chair this year. I encourage you to celebrate, remember and fight back with us this weekend.

Tyler A. Archer

DePauw University '11

Greencastle Relay for Life Co-Chair