“Stop! I’m surrendering. Don’t shoot me!”. I turned around and put my hands up in the air, admitting defeat. Robyn and Nate set down their water guns and triumphantly pumped their fists in the air. It was the middle of Relay for Life, a fundraiser event that fundraises for the American Cancer Society. Over 500 students from all walks of life gather together to raise money for cancer patients. It is an incredible event, and I am lucky to be in the center of it as Luminaria Chair. Last year’s theme, countries, led to the best Relay I have ever seen. Aromas from food around the world permeated the air. Children of all ages could be seen running around and laughing. Despite the cheerful atmosphere, there was an underlying current of gravity. Survivors of cancer congregated in the survivor tent and recounted their stories. I settled in a modest, unassuming stand near the entrance, under a banner with the word “Luminaria” on it. This tiny stand contained all the equipment for the most …show more content…
I volunteered for this event in freshman year as a team captain. It did not start off well. I was a nervous wreck, and my team was full of clashing personalities that I could not lead. Throughout the year, I was putting fire after fire, mediating conflicts between people I barely knew. When Relay came around, I was exhausted. I could not wait for it to end and told myself I would not subject myself to this stress next year. The day before Relay, I confided in my homeroom teacher about my problems. He revealed that a leader had to pick and choose her battles. I realized that I had to compromise with my team. Our different perspectives would allow us to enhance our ideas. I consulted with my team, and we finally came to an agreement on our fundraiser. I found myself actually enjoying Relay for Life and, despite my earlier assertion; I decided that I would participate next year, as a committee member, so I could improve my leadership
While there are many small happenings throughout the year, the main focus is on “The Big Event”. This is a 12-hour long dance marathon where dancers who have spent the year raising money for the cause dance their hearts out, get to meet the children part of the Children’s Miracle network and their families, and have opportunities to continue giving (whether through signing up to donate bone marrow or having hair cut for Locks of Love). During this big party, attendees are not allowed to sit/lay down or have any caffeine. This is to try and replicate a tiny bit of how the kiddos feel on a daily basis, having to go through treatments and long hospital stays while still trying to keep their spirits up. Throughout the 12 hours, families are invited to take the stage and tell the story of their experiences with Universi...
Terry knew that aches and pains are common in athlete’s lives. At the end of his first year of university there was a new pain in his knee. One morning Terry woke up to see that he could no longer stand up. A week later Terry found out that it was not just an ache he had a malignant tumor; his leg would have to be cut off six inches above the knee. Terry’s doctor told him that he had a chance of living but the odds were fifty to seventy percent. He also said that he should be glad it happened now fore just 2 years ago the chance of living was fifteen percent. The night before his operation a former coach brought Terry a magazine featuring a man who ran a marathon after a similar operation. Terry didn’t want to do something small if he was going to do something he was going to do it big. "I am competitive" Terry said, "I’m a dreamer. I like challenges. I don’t give up. When I decided to do it, I knew it was going to be all out. There was no in between Terry’s sixteen month follow up he saw all the young people suffering and getting weak by the disease. He never forgot what he saw and felt burdened to thoughts that died to run this marathon. He was one of the lucky one in three people to survive in the cancer clinics. Terry wrote asking for sponsorship " I could not leave knowing that these faces and feelings would still be here even though I would be set free of mine, s...
When the cross country season started in August I became a mentor for the new runners. I was still a runner but now I was doing my running through my peers. During each practice I would lead everyone in stretching and would follow with encouragement on my bike during runs. The freshman looked up to me as if I were an assistant coach and I knew I had done the right thing in being there every day for
One of these causes, the Miracle League of the South Hills is particularly close to my heart. A friend of my mother has a child who is severely autistic, and all my life my family and I have volunteered for many organizations to help special needs children, of all of these Miracle League has left the greatest impression on me. Ghandi once said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others,” and that is exactly what has happened to me during my long term association with the Miracle League. I truly believe my association with this organization has helped me to become a better person, more kind, caring, outgoing, and energetic. Miracle League was founded on the belief that, “Every child deserves a chance to play baseball.” Miracle League operates specially designed fields on which they bring the game of baseball to children who may have never had the opportunity to play on a real field. I volunteer with the Miracle League Buddy program. The Buddy Program pairs volunteers with a Miracle League player to help the player The buddy is there to protect the player from balls, assist the player in batting and running the bases, and to be a friend on and off the field. I began volunteering as a buddy in 2012, and in 2014 I became a Buddy Organizer for my team, the Tigers. As Buddy Organizer I do exactly what it sounds like, I am in charge of pairing up players with a
I chose “Feed the Hungry 5K Run” for Leisure Personal #2 assignment on Thanksgiving at California State University, Sacramento. At first, my friend and I wanted to do “individuals” because it was cheaper than a team registration and we don’t have enough four members to form a team. Later, there was more friends to join in and we decided to form a team and came up with the team name “Hungry Runners” which fits the event purpose. After we registered and each member paid 55 dollars which would benefit families in need in Sacramento County, we could get a bid which would time our race and a shirt with our team name “Hungry Runners” on right sleeve. This was the first time that I have ever engaged in this type of activity and the goals were to donate and experience the event atmosphere.
I can recall last year our president came up with a No Shave November fundraiser which involved a “who can grow the longest beard?” type of contest. We all had to sign up for committees that were a part of the set up. I co chaired an advertisement committee where we set up posters and got the word out about this new event so students would get involved. When it came down to sign ups, there was a low attendance. I overheard a group of guys arguing with each other about the contest and who would win, seeing that the competition part really excited them I challenged them to all join for the fun of it and a possible prize if they did win. All of them signed up that day and even though the event didn't end up being successful it was fun to see them involved and questioning me everyday about who was winning.
I joined Relay For Life because my overzealous biology teacher kept pushing it and I was an eager freshman wanting to pad my application for college. I didn’t know that Relay For Life was a part of the American Cancer Society, I didn’t know that my high school was one of the 150 high school’s in the nation to have their own relay, but I knew, the minute the lights went down and the
Entering high school with little knowledge of seemed impossible to reach the level of National Honor Society but I set my mind the right way, move from regular classes to Advance Placement classes had lots of sleepless nights but I came out successful in the end, to reach my dreams of becoming a member of the National Honor Society and make them a reality. By reaching the National Honor Society I can show my family how strong I am, that I will be someone successful in the future. The best part of achieving the requirements for the National Honor Society was to accomplish the amount of community service hours. I attended the Relay For Life event, an American Cancer Society, on the behalf of the Amnesty International Laredo Branch. I experienced
Firstly, my journey began my twelfth grade year of high school. Competing was never a word in my vocabulary or character; I was never the person to stand in front of others and talk, or answer on-spot questions. Fear was a main contributor to my dread of public speaking, there was also a feeling of judgement from others that may have struck the nerves. That all changed when I joined FCCLA; FCCLA stands for Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, and has family as its central focus. I had joined FCCLA for the first time in ninth grade, but never participated in anything. When I joined FCCLA again during my twelfth grade year, I never had any intention of competing, but my advisor encouraged me to at least try. Competing in FCCLA came with several challenges, whether it was
The movie 8 Mile has always been a favorite of mine, when I watch the movie it
...erved by the medical establishment. On May 11 we hope to draw 20,000 people and raise $1 million for the foundation. This is an event that not only educates the community on breast cancer awareness, but also empowers women to survive.
The sun beating down on my face with extreme heat is compared to the surface of the sun or hell, either way, it's hot.
The journey of life follows a predetermined pattern; we evolve from needing influence and guidance to finally reaching that point where our lives are up to us. I consider myself very lucky up to this point in my journey. Some people become sidetracked and wind up on a far different course than initially planned, but the detours I made have only assisted in embellishing the individual instead of devouring it.
We finish what we start. This was the motto that kept me going during the strenuous training period for a marathon. But prior to that, I must confess, I wasn’t an athlete. I was never interested in playing sports, except for recreational badminton. During gym class, I would walk three quarters of the time when it time for the dreaded mile run. I preferred staying indoors and sitting on the couch and watch movies. The first time I had heard about a marathon training program, called Dreamfar, in my school, I thought to myself, what kind of crazy person would want to run a marathon? Never did I realize, eight months later, I would be that crazy person.