Students taking Leadership and Events Management, a class offered through the Leisure/Sports Management department, are organizing a Relay for Life event to take place at Belk track April 25.

Relay for Life is a program sponsored by the American Cancer Society to raise money for cancer research and awareness programs, as well as to pay tribute to those who have lost some one to cancer or are cancer survivors. Teams of participants will spend the night around the track and take turns walking or running. Each team is required to have at least one representative on the track at all times, walking, running or jogging his or her way toward a cancer-free society.

"It will be a lot of fun," said junior Suzanne Speed, a member of Leadership and Events Management class and is on the logistics committee for the event. "People should feel good that they’re helping out, and many are walking in honor of family members who have survived cancer."

The event will feature different activities all night, including a raffle, free massages, face painting and other booths, as well as 30 dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts. There is also an opportunity for students and community members to purchase luminaries to honor or memorialize a cancer survivor or victim. The luminaries will be lit at a ceremony that evening and placed around the track, forming a circle of light to encourage participants not to give up hope for a cure for cancer.

"The luminary ceremony is a special ceremony to remember and honor friends and family, and to have hope," Speed said.

There will also be a reception for cancer survivors in the Burlington area, many of whom are participating in the event.

There is a $5 registration fee to participate in the event, and teams are encouraged to raise pledge money to support the fight against cancer. Every dollar raised, including the registration fee, goes to the American Cancer Society.