Students raise $25,000 during Mini Relay for Life
WAYNESBURG – Waynesburg University students used online resources and social media to exceed their fundraising goal during their Mini Relay for Life in April.
The school’s chapter of Colleges Against Cancer raised $25,000 for the American Cancer Society during the April 17 event, easily surpassing its stated goal of $20,000.
“I was just super happy,” said Kelley Hardie, assistant dean of student services. “The students worked really hard throughout the year and those efforts certainly paid off.”
Hardie said the unexpected increase came from online fundraising and from students who promoted their relay teams through social media.
“This year, we heavily promoted through the American Cancer Society’s online fundraising,” she said. “Students were able to promote donations through their Facebook and Twitter pages, and I think more family members and friends from out of town donated through that.”
The 29 Relay teams, consisting of 10 to 25 members, raised nearly $9,000 online alone, almost double what they raised through the web last year. In total last year, the event raised $18,000, Hardie said.
About 1,000 participants attended the daylong event, Hardie said, and 12 of them were Greene County cancer survivors, who walked a lap together and shared their stories.
Hardie said next year’s event is already in the planning stages and fundraising will begin in the fall.
“We’re signing teams up, and we hope to begin fundraising online early so we can exceed that goal for next year,” she said.