One Day. One Night. One Community.

Relay for Life takes place in communities across the country. It is an event sponsored by the American Cancer Society to honor cancer survivors, remember lost ones, and help raise money to fight the battle. I have participated in Relay for Life for the past four years. The actual event doesn't start until six o'clock, but there are volunteers working all day to prepare. In my hometown of Edwardsville, Illinois the relay takes place around the high school track. There are dozens of tents set up and teams walking around the track all night long. There is music and games being played, food and drinks and people celebrating life.

Although filling hundreds of paper bags with sand and a candle can get tedious, it is worth it by the time the sun sets. People at the event can purchase lumineers to celebrate a battle won or honor a lost loved one. The lumineers are set up around the track and lit once it becomes dark, and it is one of the most powerful moments I have ever witnessed. Seeing hundreds of people from my community walking around the track to fight a terrible disease is extremely inspiring to me. To open the ceremony, cancer survivors walk the first lap - over the years I have seen six year old children all the way up to sixty year old adults walking on the track and they are some of the proudest people I have ever seen.

This is an event I look forward to volunteering at every year. Thousands of dollars continue to be raised in order to help fight cancer.