Story by Jodie Woodward

Staff Photographer

Video by Kara Allison

A world with more birthdays is the motivation behind the battle, and Relay for Life is how it is being fought.

Luminaria, paper bags with candles inside commemorating cancer patients, lined the sidewalks of Wagon Wheel Park at the Coppell Relay for Life on the night of April 30, representing the battles that have been fought for cancer or are still in process. Loved ones were mourned, lives were celebrated and money was raised through this event.

Relay for Life is a yearly event held across the United States to raise awareness about cancer and fundraise the search for a cure. Community members form teams, band together and walk all night to illustrate the battle that cancer patients and their loved ones are going through. Teams compete to raise money for the cause and celebrate together through various activities such as movies, live music and booths that are set up at the event.

According to the American Cancer Society, cancer is the second highest cause of death in the United States and accounts for nearly one fourth of mortality in the country. The ACS statistics also show that one in eight deaths worldwide is due to cancer.

With cancer as such a prominent killer in our worl

d, the goal of Relay for Life is to spread awareness about the disease. Many people do not realize just how often cancer strikes and Relay for Life is targeted to make that fact more known to the public.

Coppell High School art teacher Elsa Reynolds has been involved in Relay for Life for years, especially after her mother was diagnosed with lung cancer, so she took on the role of becoming the Relay for Life Sponsor at Coppell High School.

“I decided to be part of the committee and be the Youth Involvement chair to kind of help the students know how to get involved with Relay for Life,” Reynolds said.

Although the majority of the attendees at the relay are students, many go for the social aspect because they do not fully grasp the objective of the event.

Reynolds knows the social aspect is a common draw for students and has made it her job through the club to spread awareness of the event’s intent throughout the student body.

“We’ve always had teams of students show up and volunteer but they don’t always know what the purpose of it is and they don’t actually do a lot of the fundraising, so I just wanted CHS to have more of an involvement in Relay,” Reynolds said.

25 students decided to step up and join the club at the high school. They divided into teams and the goal for each student was to raise at least $100 for the cause, which would equal a grand total of $2,500 raised for Relay for Life just by students in the club. According to Reynolds, the club had already almost reached that goal by Friday before the event.

Although the event was shut down at 3 a.m. due to a storm, the night was described as a success.

“It was neat to see how many people really cared about raising awareness for cancer,” junior Abby Bellow said.