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Flamingos Raise Money for Relay for Life

Alma College faculty and staff members are paying to invade their colleagues’ campus offices with flamingos to raise money for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

The fundraiser is just one way the Alma College community is getting involved with Relay for Life. The College has a faculty and staff team and 36 student teams registered for the 24-hour walk, which will take place from 10 a.m. Feb. 9 to 10 a.m. Feb. 10 at the Stone Recreation Center.

 

“Two of my friends are currently fighting cancer, and when I signed up to be only a participant three years ago I couldn't help but do more,” says DeWitt senior Sami Spedoske, coordinator for the College’s student Relay for Life teams. “This is how I honor the millions of survivors and those who have lost the battle.”

The American Cancer Society estimates that about 1.5 million people nationwide were diagnosed with cancer in 2007, of which 55,000 were in Michigan. About 560,000 people died of cancer nationwide in 2007. 

Alma College Associate Professor of Mathematics Robert Molina and his late wife, Brenda, who lost her battle with ovarian cancer, initially started the faculty and staff team. The annual walk raised about $32,000 in 2007 and about $30,000 in 2006.

“This is my third Relay for Life walk,” says Mary Lou Ecken, Alma’s career planning coordinator. “ I like to be involved in events that make a difference.”

“My husband's grandfather fought cancer most of his life, and in 2002 he lost the battle,” says Cassie Tennant, an accountant in the College’s Business Office. “However, my grandfather is a survivor of cancer. Working for a pharmacy in West Branch, I admired the attitudes and personalities of many patients, even though they were fighting the hardest battle of their lives.”

 

 

Faculty and staff initiated the flamingo fundraiser. Sending a flamingo to a campus office costs $2, and having one removed costs $5. Decorations such as sunglasses and other accessories can bee added to a flamingo for $1, and $10 insurance can be purchased to block flamingos from invading an office.

Information about participating in or donating to Relay for Life can be found on the Alma College Relay for Life Web site or by contacting Spedoske at 08sisped@alma.edu.

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In the more than 100 years since its founding, Alma has stayed true to its roots by keeping its Scottish heritage alive. Today, Alma features a marching band clad in Kilts, a Scottish dance troupe, student pipers and its own tartan. Each year, the College hosts the Alma Highland Festival and Games, which feature traditional Scottish games and revelry.

 

Student Profile

Melissa Boguslawski

Melissa Boguslawski
Graduation: 2008
Major: Exercise Health Science, Chemistry
From: Madison Heights, Michigan
Interests: Sports, Heritage

Alma students are good stewards of the world around them. Whether cleaning a long-neglected Jewish cemetery in Poland or the Pine River in our backyard, you can be involved in service projects through classroom work or volunteer activities. Your education is personalized to your talents and interests to prepare you for service, leadership and stewardship.