Suffern, NY— Students from Rockland Community College, St. Thomas Aquinas, Nyack College, and Dominican Colleges will gather at RCC for an all-evening relay to benefit cancer patients.

Friday, February 19, 6:00 p.m. until Midnight

Snow Date: Friday, March 12, 2010

Fieldhouse, RCC Suffern campus

“ACS College Relay for Life” cancer fundraiser

The 6th Annual Rockland County College Relay for Life will bring together cancer survivors with the families of those who have lost a loved one to cancer, as well as people from the community who want to help the cause.  The inspirational speaker will be RCC student Samantha Botwinick, who was diagnosed with stage IV cancer at the age of four. She needed to have her right kidney removed and endure 18 months of chemotherapy as well as seven days of radiation.  The 19-year-old said, “I am now 14 years in remission.” Botwinick will be graduating in May and just made the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society.

At the beginning of the relay, loved ones are individually honored at the Luminaria Ceremony.  This year, the Relay will be in memory of Dorothy Keeley, mother of Dan Keeley,  RCC’s Director, Arena Management & Athletics, and Kathleen Hanlon, mother of Kevin Hanlon,  RCC’s Assistant to the Director, Athletics & Arena Management, who both lost their fight against cancer in fall of 2008. Organizers from the American Cancer Society hope to raise at least $30,000.

About 300 students from the four colleges will be divided into teams of about ten students. Team members take turns walking around the Fieldhouse track. It is hoped that each student can raise approximately $50 to $100 for the cause.

Since its inception in 1985, Relay for Life has grown to over 3,000 annual events that raise nearly a quarter billion dollars for research into cancer prevention and treatment as well as outpatient services. Donations can be made online at the American Cancer Society (ACS) Web site or checks payable to the American Cancer Society can be given to Diana Carey, RCC Athletic Trainer and Instructor of Physical Education.

For more information, contact Diana Carey at dcarey@sunyrockland.edu, (845) 574-4025, or visit: www.relayforlife.org/rocklandcountycollege