May 1, 2003

Contact: Todd Cohen, University Relations, (785) 864-8858.

MEDIA ADVISORY: Chancellor to kick off first KU Relay for Life benefit on Friday

LAWRENCE -- University of Kansas Chancellor Robert Hemenway will kick off the first KU Relay for Life benefit at 6 p.m. Friday at Memorial Stadium.

Organizers hope the event, slated for 6 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday, will raise $50,000 for the American Cancer Society. Fifty-two teams of eight to 10 people have registered to walk the track at the stadium. Each team will have one member on the track at all times during the 12-hour event.

The event is sponsored by the American Cancer Society Relay for Life at KU, a registered student organization led by Adrienne Rosel, Liberal sophomore.

The chancellor will speak immediately after the playing of the national anthem. Following the chancellor's remarks, cancer survivors will be invited to walk the first lap around the stadium, and then the teams will begin walking.

Luminaries, dedicated to cancer victims, will be sold at the event and lit for a 10 p.m. ceremony on Campanile Hill.

Organizers invite people to bring quarters to the stadium for a Quarter Chase fund-raiser. The goal is to collect enough quarters to encircle the entire track. That would raise $10,000. There will be other fund-raising events as well as a raffle.