Last weekend, my Facebook feed was filled with Relay for Life information. Two Pi Phi friends, one in California and one in Galesburg, Illinois, were participating in local Relay for Life events sponsored by the American Cancer Society. Those posts reminded me that I received a nifty bit of trivia from a reader of this blog. In addition, I have been on the accounting team at my local Relay for years (okay, it’s decades now) and I have seen the dedication of the Southern Illinois University Carbondale Greek-Letter Organizations in supporting the Carbondale Relay for Life.
Relay for Life started as a one-man event in May, 1985. Tacoma, Washington, surgeon, Dr. Gordy Klatt, in an effort to show support for his patients and raise some funds for his local American Cancer Society, spent 24 hours circling the track at Baker Stadium at the University of Puget Sound. “He ran for more than 83 miles. That first year, nearly 300 of Dr. Klatt’s friends, family, and patients watched as he ran and walked the course. Throughout the night, friends donated $25 to run or walk with Dr. Klatt for 30 minutes. His efforts raised $27,000 to fight cancer,” according to the ACS website. Out of that first event came the idea for Relay for Life. In 1986, with the help of Pat Flynn (“Mother of Relay”), 19 teams took part in the first Relay for Life team event raising $33,000. Klatt died a year ago on August 3, 2014.
Many colleges and university sponsor Relay for Life events and GLOs are a big part of the festivities. Teams dress up and decorate their team HQs. There are serious sides of the event – the Survivor’s Lap, the Luminaria Ceremony – but the spirit of hope prevails.
The fraternity and sorority community at Elmhurst College in Illinois has hosted a Relay for Life since 1995. It was called, “Walk for Hope in memory of Claire Bartels. Claire, who succumbed to cancer in December of 1995, was the wife of Ken Bartels (former Elmhurst College Elmhurst Vice President for College Relations), the mother of Amy Bartels Hatfield (Elmhurst College and Gamma Chi Sorority alumna), an employee of Elmhurst College, and an honorary member of Gamma Chi Sorority (a local sorority which affiliated with Phi Mu Fraternity). Claire was a proponent of brotherhood/sisterhood and the fraternity/sorority community could think of no better tribute than to create a community-based fundraiser in her name. To date, the event (now campus-wide) has raised over $477,000 for the American Cancer Society,” according to Elizabeth Doyle, Alpha Omicron Pi, Director of Fraternity/Sorority Life at Elmhurst College.
My curiosity about how much GLOs have raised during Relay for Life events spurred me to ask a Tri Sigma friend who works in the ACS’s St. Louis office, if ACS keeps track of such statistics. She was unable to find any breakouts per type of organization. If anyone has these numbers, please let me know. The ACS staff partner to the Carbondale RFL began as a student volunteer. She is an Alpha Gamma Delta. She provided me with the numbers for the last six RFLs held in Carbondale. During that time, the Southern Illinois University GLOs raised a third of the total funds raised in the last six years. Together, as a population of not more than 10% of SIUC’s student body, the GLOs raised more than $100,000. I find that impressive.
The Delta Phi Epsilon Relay for Life Team at the Carbondale Relay for Life.
The Sigma Kappa Team at the Carbondale Relay for Life. Although the event is always planned for outdoors, rain has prevented the Relay from taking place outside. I think it has been about 10 years since it hasn’t gone inside to the rain location.
© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2015. All rights reserved. If you enjoyed this post, please sign up for updates. Also follow me on twitter @GLOHistory and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/glohistory/
