What is Relay for Life?
What is Relay for Life at the University of Tennessee?
How do I participate in Relay?
I’m on a team, now what?
How do I raise my money?
When and where is the actual event?
What happens at the event?
Where does the money go?
What if I have questions not answered here?

What is Relay for Life at the University of Tennessee?

This is the fourth year Relay for Life is being held at the University of Tennessee. The primary purpose of Relay is to raise money for the American Cancer Society. However, Relay is also a venue for students and faculty to come together to celebrate life and work together to raise money for a cause that affects almost everyone in some way. For a more detailed description of how the money is used when it goes to the American Society click here. 

How do I participate in Relay?

To become involved with Relay participants form teams of eight to twelve people.
There are three ways to do this:

1. Start a team. To form a team all you need to do is gather a group of friends or members of a student organization you are involved with. One person from your group must be designated as “captain” for your team. That captain will be the liaison between your group and the Relay Executive Committee when they attend team captain meetings. For more information about being a Team Captain, click here.
2. Join an existing team. Many organizations participate in Relay every year. Check with the presidents of organizations you are involved with to see if they have started a team or are planning to do so. If they need more information send them to this site!
3. Sign up on your own. If you cannot find a team to join or do not have the resources to do so you can email us at relay@utk.edu and/or come to a team captain’s meeting to participate. We will be forming teams composed of those individuals who cannot find a team to join.

I’m on a team, now what?

To register for Relay each participant must give $10. After registration everyone is expected to raise $90 for a total of at least $100 between now and the time of the event. Although this is the minimum fundraising requirement many participants raise much more than this amount. Top fundraising individuals and teams will be awarded with prizes at the close of the event.

How do I raise my money?

One of the first things you can do to raise your money is to sign into your online account. The fundraising site provides email templates you can easily fill out and send to friends and family members telling them to visit your online site. Those receiving your email can then donate by credit card towards your total for the event. To view the UT Relay fundraising site click here. (It's the site you registered on.)

Another way to raise money is to mail letters to friends and family. Click here to get sample letters. For other ideas you can view our Guide to Fundraising.

When and where is the actual event? 

Relay will be held in Circle Park at UT on April 21-22, 2006 from 7pm to 7am. Teams are encouraged to bring tents and chairs to the event to be comfortable at their designated site. For more information make sure you attend the team captains meetings.

What happens at the event?

Relay is a laidback, fun filled event. Throughout the night there will be live bands, a dj, group games and speakers. Relay begins with a “Survivor’s Lap,” which is when cancer survivors from the UT community lead off the first official lap of the event. After this lap teams will have their members take turns walking around the track throughout the night to honor everyone who has faced cancer. If you are a survivor of cancer or know someone who is a survivor of cancer who would like to participate, click here or email relay@utk.edu.

Throughout the evening we will also remember those who have lost their battle to cancer through a luminaria ceremony. Anyone can purchase a luminaria, which is a candle lit bag identified with the name of the person being honored. These bags will line the track during the event to remind us of why we do Relay. For more information about purchasing luminaries click here.

This year’s Relay theme is “The Amazing Relay” It is suggested that teams choose a country or region from throughout the world to use as a theme for costumes or props. Examples are Latino, Italian, French, etc. In addition to these activities teams have onsite fundraisers to raise additional funds for the American Cancer Society. Examples of this include selling: food items, massages, kisses, or time to play a video game.

What if I have questions not answered here?

If you have any other questions you can contact your team captain or email us at relay@utk.edu. We look forward to having you help us make Relay a success!