just wanted to share this idea that worked well at our opening ceremony. I like to have an overall upbeat ceremony, but since so much of the Relay is upbeat, I also like to make sure that everyone there knows how serious this fight is, and how badly some people are hurting, either fighting cancer or from loved ones they have lost.
I also like to involve as many people as possible in the opening ceremony- reinforcing that its THEIR Relay, and also avoid a long or dull speech by one person. So, I had 7 people each read part of the words to the Why We Relay video. I introduced it by saying that while its been said a million times, how hard it is to describe the Relay, no one ever has trouble explaining WHY they Relay. We did this right at the start of the ceremony.
Well, it came off perfectly - very serious - several of the speakers almost couldnt get the words out, which surprized them and me. For those new to the Relay, they GOT IT. WE got good feedback on it and hope to do something similar to that in the future.
Kip Cleaver
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July 29, 2007 - 6:08am
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Thanks
Thanks for the wonderful idea! This is my first year being on a committee so I need all the help/ideas I can get. Relay is new to our town so we really want to have a great turn out. Keep the ideas coming....
January 10, 2008 - 9:39am
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Relay For Life
Lisa, I caught your name when I was checking out the forums. I saw that you had one of the most recent postings. You mentioned that you needed all the ideas you could get. I'm a one year cancer survivor and my wife and I have been involved in a Relay For Life project for three years. We actually made a feature length movie in which the Relay is highlighted. We're offering it to Relays across the country as a fund raiser. We're really, really proud of what we were able to accomplish because it was all done by volunteers. Our website is <expectamiraclethemovie.com>
We'd really like to be able to give back because I feel like I was so lucky.
Thanks, Tom
January 10, 2008 - 5:53pm
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Awesome!
Love the idea... It's always good when events vary the ceremonies to make them more interesting.
A couple of other ideas:
OPENING
• Get great speakers - A Survivor, an MC, a great caretaker, a local celebrity... They can really pump up the energy and get you off to a great start...
• Lead in to your Opening with A Torch Relay - it is a great way to get people pumped - see Flame Of Hope - This is an idea that refers to having a large Torch at your event that represents HOPE... You can see an example courtesy of the Chatham, NC News in Siler City, NC:
http://www.thechathamnews.com/archives/May20/index.htm
Torch Relay - This is where a Torch is relayed around your town and Relay and eventually used to light the big torch at your event and your luminaria from that!:
http://www.acsrelay.org/Darn_Good_Ideas/12-Survivorship_And_How_To_Keep_...
This idea is particularly great way to honor your survivors by letting them carry the torch!
LUMINARIA
* Other smaller events have each person who bought a luminaria read the name of the person
* make the luminaria ceremony about remembering first mothers, then fathers, then sisters and brothers, then children, then friends... have candles lit by those categories - to make it hit home that there are no guarantees in life.
* TRANSFORMING HOPE INTO CURE Luminaria Ceremony - involves lighting the words HOPE AND CURE for the luminaria ceremony - there is a separate post on how this is done:
CLOSING
* Have a big door prize at your closing - one event had a donated used car!, another two airline tickets! - to keep people. Have folks earn entries throughout the night they have to be present for to win.
* Have one member of each team come up to the stage and share one sentence (one sentence only) about the most inspiring thing they saw that night/morning at Relay such as:
"When I saw Susan light a luminaria in honor of her husband Henry who she lost just last week"
"When Dave and Jen fell down while doing the 3 am potato sack race, right in the rain puddle!"
"When Joe burned ALL our hot dogs" (laughter)
Keep additional comments brief, so that you leave participants with those memories and get them to come listen to closing to hear their team member talk.
Way to go, again!
Ramesh
July 29, 2007 - 12:41pm
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