Relay for Life will hold its official kickoff in the Mayer Campus Center tonight, seeking to sign up participants for its walk-a-thon in March.
Tonight's event will incorporate performances by student groups BlackOut, B.E.A.T.S and Zigi and the Bandit.
Supported by the American Cancer Society (ACS), Relay for Life has been raising money for cancer patients for more than a decade, and it extends to more than 4,800 communities nationwide. According to junior Zachary Parris, the event's co-chair, this is the sixth year that Tufts will host a Relay for Life fundraiser.
"We have increased the amount that we fundraise every year ... by a significant number," Parris said.
According to Whitney Downum, an official at ACS's New England Division, Tufts raised $76,000 last year.
"It's been very successful," she told the Daily. "It's a pretty huge event, and there were [about] 600 participants last year."
Administrators hope to spread word about the walk-a-thon at the kickoff and start compiling teams.
"The point of [the kickoff] is to not only get people information about the relay, but we'll have laptops there so people can sign up their teams," Downum said.
The relay teams consist of at least three people who participate in the walk-a-thon. Each relay team tries to have someone walking around the track in the Gantcher Center for all 12 hours of the marathon.
Various other events will occur during the marathon. Last year, a ping-pong tournament was held. Downum said that part of the event is dedicated to honoring student cancer survivors on campus.
Teams can sign up for the relay on the Internet, and according to Downum, online registration has already begun.
Much more registration has yet to come, though, she said. "We'll definitely be doing a lot of publicity, flyering and getting the word out" between now and the relay, she said.
Parris expects that the number of participants and the amount of money raised will continue to rise this year. There will be more information sessions, tabling sessions and fundraising events from now until March's Relay for Life.
