Three-year-old Ainsley Burns Jacobson is undergoing chemotherapy.
Diagnosed with Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis, a rare bone disease, when she was 2 1/2 years old, Ainsley receives her treatments at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. And though she does not have cancer, Ainsley and her mom, Betsi Burns Jacobson, participated in the second annual Northwestern Relay for Life to show their support for cancer research.
Burns Jacobson, an academic adviser for student athletes, read names as part of a tribute at the event, held Friday and Saturday. The list included friends and family of participants who have survived or succumbed to cancer, as well as those currently undergoing treatment.
“I was surprised by the number of names I recognized,” she said. “I work with professors all the time and had no idea they were cancer survivors.”
NU Relay for Life, sponsored by the NU athletic department and the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, raised more than $90,000 this year — almost three times more than last year — including an expected $18,000 in matching funds from Seyfarth Shaw Attorneys, LLC, of Chicago, who sent a team to the event.
Each member of the 47 teams — composed of about 10 members — raised at least $100.
“It was an absolute blast,” said Suzi Sutton, the event’s organizer. “It was the most energy I’ve seen at a relay in a long time. People were coming up to me saying ‘Wow, the energy is so great.'”
Impending thunderstorms forced the event to move indoors from the Lakefill to Welsh-Ryan Arena. Spirits were not dampened, however, as participants learned salsa moves, tossed footballs and talked into the night on the court littered with sleeping bags.
B.L.A.S.T. performers and the band Bootsie entertained walkers through the night. At 3 a.m. participants were enlivened by a karaoke rendition of “A Whole New World” from “Aladdin.”
At dusk the events held a luminaria ceremony with keynote speaker Wilma Terry, who is Ms. Illinois of the U.S. Beauties pageant and a seven-year breast cancer survivor. Terry read a “hope poem” she wrote, which Sutton, a Communication senior, described as “uplifting and encouraging, with a solemn effect.”
Relay for Life benefits cancer research through the American Cancer Society. The event began in 1985 with one doctor running around a track for his patients. The program has spread to more than 3,800 U.S. communities and eight countries since, according to the ACS Web site.
Many at the event have been doing Relay for Life for many years. Weinberg sophomore and member of the Delta Gamma team Katy Swanson has been doing relay since high school.
“This is a really good cause and good event,” she said, adding that, “With college kids, you wouldn’t necessarily expect such a turnout.”
But there were newcomers as well. Brooke Jordan, an Alpha Chi Omega team member, couldn’t participate last year because she was hospitalized while receiving treatment for liver cancer. She said she was inspired to participate not only by her experiences, but by her roommates, who walked for her in last year’s relay.
Jordan was one of eight survivors who walked the initial lap of the relay.
Andrew Curran, a member of NU’s wrestling team, said he was excited to participate.
“Last year we didn’t get a team together, so we just wanted to get out here and raise money for a good cause,” said Curran, a Communication senior.
Many other teams from the athletic department also participated. Amy Tush, cross-country team coach, said the event unified athletes.
“It’s a great cause and exciting that we can bring student athletes together outside of practice,” she said. “Even the football team is here.”
More money still is coming in, Sutton said, because a few teams registered in the last few weeks and have not finished fund raising. Money will be accepted through the end of the school year and can be submitted to Sutton or any other Relay for Life team member.
