CB Middle Schoolers Hold Huge Relay for Life

Central Bucks middle school students on Saturday descended on Tohickon Middle School for an emotional 12 hours that ended with the light of hope shimmering in the darkness.

Thousands of students, parents, cancer survivors and caregivers came together for the annual Relay for Life of Central Bucks Middle Schools. Now in its ninth year, the event organized by the students is a major fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.

In 2011, the CB event raised $341,000. Since its beginning in 2004, it has raised more than $1.8 million for the American Cancer Society.

In fact, it is the second-largest student-organized Relay for Life in the nation, said Bill Senavaitis, a teacher at Tohickon Middle School and the chairman of the district's Relay committee.

"Everyone always asks how they raise that much money. It’s really just a lot of kids working really hard," Senavaitis said. "We have sponsors that we’re really grateful for, but most of our money still comes from the kids doing bake sales and car washes."

By the time Relay itself comes around in May, most of the hard work is done. The kids start planning and executing their fundraisers in February or March.

Each student must commit to raising at least $50, but most surpass that. The average amount raised is about $118, Senavaitis said.

Literally thousands of students participate - so many, in fact, that organizers had to limit this year's event to eighth and ninth grade students only. It was the only way to keep Relay - which drew more than 7,000 people in 2011 - from suffering from its own success, Senavaitis said.

"We had to figure out how to scale it back, and that’s hard when you’ve spent eight years encouraging kids to sign up and do everything they can to raise money," he said. "It was one of the hardest decisions we had to make."

One of the first Relays attracted about 700 kids from the district's five middle schools and fewer than 10 cancer survivors, Senavaitis said.

Last year, 3,253 students participated - about 64 percent of the middle school students in the district, he said. They were joined by 581 cancer survivors and caregivers and 3,587 adult chaperones.

"You can’t really bump into someone who hasn’t been affected by cancer in some way," Senavaitis said. "Some of these kids - we have a couple who have unfortunately lost a parent to cancer. It’s a way for them to fight back."

At the end of the event, the luminaries bearing the names of cancer victims and survivors circle the track.

And on a hillside, as darkness fell, the candles inside the bags glowed with life, spelling out the word "Hope."