The 2024 Relay For Life Carnival for a Cure took place on Nov. 17 on Alumni Lawn to celebrate the organization’s 14th year anniversary. Founded in 2010, Relay For Life is a student organization dedicated to supporting cancer research, raising awareness and fostering hope for a cancer-free future.
The event featured food, activities and music while attendees honored cancer survivors and their journeys. Senior Shanay Desai, co-president of Vanderbilt Relay For Life, said the event aimed to bring the community together to honor cancer survivors or those affected by cancer.
“My favorite part of the event is seeing everyone have fun and be in support of the same movement and something bigger than all of us,” Desai said.
Relay for Life’s annual fundraising goal of $60,000 was significantly higher than last year’s goal of $16,000. $55,000 was raised before the event by teams of students involved in the organization, with an additional $7,000 raised at the event for a total of $62,768.
One part of the event was the Survivor Walk, in which participants joined and walked with cancer survivors. First-year Hope Sheth shared that her favorite part of the event was having the opportunity to witness and honor the cancer survivors being affected by their fundraising.
“My favorite part of Carnival for a Cure was getting to connect with cancer survivors and their families. It was incredible to see that our funding has impacted so many people,” Sheth said.
For Christina Kanyongolo, first-year and recruitment chair of Commons for the organization, the event was about bringing “joy to the joyless part of life” while spreading awareness and supporting cancer research.
“We partnered with Vanderbilt Dining for initiatives like [Saturday’s] Purple Brunch Party. We saw the survivors walking around the laps, and people were crying. It feels good to be part of something like this,” Kayongolo said.
The event featured various speakers, including Dr. Raymond Blind, VUMS professor and associate director at the Cancer Center for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Blind shared his thoughts on how the future of cancer research would be impacted by Relay For Life fundraising for The American Cancer Society.
“Unlike federal money which has a lot of restrictions on stuff you can and can’t buy [in the lab], The American Cancer Society doesn’t have those kinds of restrictions on funding,” Blind said. “It is incredibly freeing to just have a pot of money you can spend in any way you want to.”
