Relay for Life is one of the newer clubs at Pitman High. Pitman has had a Relay for Life team for the past three years and made it an official club this school year. I got the opportunity to sit down with Mrs. Esquibel, the club advisor, and interview her about the club and organization.
  If you’re not familiar with Relay for Life, it is a 24 hour relay where at least one person from each team has to stay on the track and walk at all times. The purpose is to raise money to find a cure, or treatments for cancer. Why 24 hours? They didn’t randomly just choose a number, the 24 hours symbolizes that cancer never rests, “so we can’t rest in our fight against it,” Mrs. Esquibel explains.
  It is Mrs. Esquibel’s second year involved with Relay for Life and she loves it! She is impressed by how many members they have, and she is especially thankful for Christina Shamon who introduced her to the program. Relay for Life is very important to her because she has lost several loved ones from cancer, including her Nana. Mrs. Esquibel encourages everyone to join the club and participate in this year’s relay.
  Relay for Life started in 1985 when Dr. Klatt (a colorectal surgeon) decided to do a 24-hour jog-a-thon in Tacoma, Washington. Family and friends paid him $25 to walk or jog for 30 minutes. At the end of the event he raised around $27,000 and had walked over 83 miles. All the proceeds went to cancer patients. After Dr. Klatt’s experience with the 24 hour event he decided to start a relay with teams so more people could participate. His dream became reality months later when the first Relay for Life was completed. Presently, Relay for Life is held in hundreds of communities across the country where teams walk the track. Family and friends walk alongside cancer survivors, celebrating their victories, while others walk in memory of loved ones lost or to honor those still battling the disease.
  The track is well lit at night by hundreds of brightly lit luminaries—paper bags containing candles that are lovingly decorated with messages and pictures of loved ones lost or those still struggling with cancer. The harsh consequences of this disease become very real when you view the faces of all the mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends on those luminaries. It reminds you of how important it is to find a cure for this disease, and one way to help do that is to participate in the Relay.
  This year the Relay will be held on April 16-17, 2011 at Dutcher Middle School in Turlock. The club is currently fundraising by selling paper footprints for only a dollar where you can write in ‘memory’ or ‘honor’ of someone who has been affected with cancer, or you may purchase luminary bags to honor loved ones for $10. Having participated in my first Relay a few years ago after losing my uncle to cancer, I can tell you that getting involved with Relay for Life will be one of the best decisions you can make. Let’s help Mrs. Esquibel make this Pitman’s most successful Relay ever!