Football players Everett Golson, Elijah Shumate, Louis Nix III, Prince Shembo and Joey Brooks pose for a picture at the 2013 Relay for Life in the Compton Family Ice Arena.
The 2013 University of Notre Dame Relay for Life, which took place Friday and Saturday (April 12 and 13) at the Compton Family Ice Arena, successfully raised more than $189,000, the highest amount in the ND Relay’s history, to fight cancer.
To date, the 2013 ND Relay for Life has raised $189,152.51 to benefit the American Cancer Society, bringing the total funds raised by the annual event to more than $1 million.
Students and teams from throughout the University held auctions, bake sales, blood drives and a variety of other events in a friendly competition to raise funds for Relay for Life. Two teams, UR Walking on Sunshine from University Relations and Techies Tackling Cancer from the Office of Information Technologies, each raised more than $20,000. Event sponsors, including local businesses, restaurants and organizations, increased funding this year to $33,000 from $21,950 in 2012.
More than 1,900 people participated in this year’s event, held for the first time in the Compton Arena, which provided space for such on-ice activities as a family skate, broomball and performances from ice skaters and the Notre Dame hockey club during the event. Other activities from the overnight relay included live music, cookie decoration, a silent auction and photo opportunities in the arena’s penalty box.
The honorary chairpeople of the 2013 Relay are Marc Burdell, Class of 1987, director of alumni programs for the Alumni Association and survivor of follicular leukemic lymphoma, and Teresa Kennedy, Ryan Hall freshman and survivor of dermatofibrosarcoma.