'Yorktown is an Amazing Community': Q&A with Co-Chairs of Relay for Life

Cancer affects so many people in one way or another. Close to 2,000 people are expected to gather today for the seventh year at Relay for Life in Yorktown. They will celebrate the survivors in their lives, honor those who have passed and fight back against the disease.

But it's the people who live in Yorktown who help make the all-night marathon a huge event in Yorktown and the number one fundraising town for the American Cancer Society.

"Yorktown is an amazing community, chock full of people who know the meaning of caring and wanting to help others," said Donna D’Andrea, co-chair of Yorktown's Relay for Life.

The and the emphasis would be on the caregivers this year. There will be more than 1,000 bags for the Luminaria Ceremony, which is when all attendees are asked to gather and remember those who have battled cancer and passed away. 

Patch caught up with Yorktown Relay for Life co-chairs Jane McCarthy and Donna D’Andrea to ask them more about what goes into preparing for the event and what's new this year. Their answers are below. 

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Patch: What is it like to run such a big event every year? What kind of work goes into it?

D’Andrea: Because of the outpouring of community Relay in Yorktown has grown tremendously over the years. We started as a committee of 8 and have grown into a committee of over 25. Everyone knows their specific sub-committee responsibilities and when another sub-committee needs help we are all there to step in. It has become a family to me.

McCarthy: Having a successful Relay involves a group of people who are dedicated to the cause. It is a circle. It involves the committee, the community, the schools, the town, the local businesses and the desire to make a difference by fighting cancer.

Patch: When do you start planning and preparing?

D’Andrea: As soon as the last Relay ends! 

McCarthy: We have our first committee meeting in late September to gear up for the kickoff in February, which has been hosted by Travelers Rest for the past six years. Once the kickoff arrives, we schedule monthly committee and team captain meetings. There also sub committees meeting separately such as the Survivor and Entertainment committees. Each committee chair knows what needs to get done and it is really run like a well oiled machine.

Patch: What's the day of the Relay for Life event like?

D’Andrea: The day starts out at about 8 a.m. with most of our committee, meeting to set up and decorate and assemble track signs, along with survivor goodie bags. We have the help of some very enthusiastic senior citizens also. They come every year without fail. Around 11 a.m. we start decorating the survivor tent to set up for the dinner we hold in their honor. The day goes on from there with team captains setting up tents, and before you know it the field is transformed.

McCarthy: It is two words: !

Patch: How long does it take to set up?

D’Andrea: We usually finish setting up just before Relay begins – about 6 to 7 hours.

McCarthy: The three of us (D'Andrea, McCarthy and Monica Garrigan) do not leave the field until early Saturday morning.

Patch: What organizations are participating and how are they contributing?

D’Andrea: There will be food provided by many restaurants in Yorktown for our Survivor Dinner. There will also be food for Relayer's provided by Yorktown Lions/Leos and Yorktown PBA and ASK.

McCarthy: ASK/PBA and the Leos have a tent where they cook hamburgers, hot dogs and sausages. All the food is donated. There are also individual teams that have food for the fundraisers. You will find popcorn, cotton candy, kettle corn, pretzels, fried Oreos, Italian ice, snow cones, gelatto and more!

Patch: How many teams participate each year? How has that number changed over the years? 

D’Andrea: We have 108 teams this year. Over the years we have grown from 25 teams. Word gets around about Relay and people want to see what it is all about. We lose some teams each year as high school kids become college kids, but in the end we always have a fresh group coming in.

Patch: How much money in total has Yorktown raised over the last six years? What will that number be this year?

D’Andrea: We have raised over $1 million for Relay. We hope to reach our $300,000 goal this year. 

Patch: Relay for Life is the annual all-night marathon with the messages of celebrate, remember and fight back. What do these words mean to you?

D’Andrea: I celebrate the family members who have beaten cancer. I remember lovingly those members who have lost the battle, and I fight back with those who are going through treatment and fighting with every ounce of there soul to win.

McCarthy: Celebrate, Remember and Fight Back equal Hope for me. We need to always have HOPE. When we have hope, it is so much easier to celebrate, remember and fight back.

Patch: What's new this year at Yorktown's Relay for Life that residents have not seen in the years past?

D’Andrea: We will be emphasizing Caregivers this year. Survivors will be honoring their caregivers with a purple carnation and we will have a special Caregiver ceremony and a survivor telling their story of their caregiver. We will also be having a butterfly release.

McCarthy: [Caregivers] are the unsung heroes who have been by a cancer patients side, supporting them, driving them to treatment, holding their hands, babysitting their children or making a meal for the patients family. We will also have hush fairies. A group of children from Mohansic who will "fly" around the field right before the Luminaria ceremony letting people know they should HUSH and come to the stage for the most reverent part of the event. Also, the team Brookside Buddies is having a butterfly release at 6 p.m. by the survivors tent.    

 Patch: Who are the honoree(s) this year who will cut the ribbon before the Relay?

D’Andrea: We will be giving the Key to Relay to ASK, Yorktown Lions/Leos Club and the Yorktown PBA. They have over the years been huge supporters for Relay for Life. 

Patch: What's your personal connection to cancer and how did you get involved with Relay for Life?

D’Andrea: My personal connection is having family members with cancer and I have lost three to date from the disease. I still have one fighting today.

McCarthy: I came to this Yorktown event 5 years and knew I had to get involved. I could tell it was a good thing and that my passion could be unleashed to organize, help and carry the torch for the American Cancer Society. Since my involvement, 5 of my close friends in their 40s have been diagnosed with cancer. I am happy to say that they are ALL survivors and and inspiration to me on a daily basis. It is because of them and so many others I have the Purple Power to spread to the community and beyond.

Patch: You're the co-chairs of the Yorktown Relay for Life, what other organizations in the community are you involved with?

D’Andrea: Relay takes up a lot of my free time, I volunteered for the American Heart Association Heart Walk this year in Putnam County where I work.

McCarthy: I coin myself as the FOPTA, FONP – I am a Friend of the PTA and a Friend of other Non-Profit organizations in Yorktown. I am friends with the committee members and they know they can tap me at any time and they do and I am always willing to help. 

Patch: Is there anything we haven't asked you about, that you would like our readers to know?

D’Andrea: I would like the readers to know that Relay for Life of Yorktown is a full blown community event, where there will be many games and attractions, items for raffle, and delicious food for all those that attend. If they choose to join us for Relay on Friday, June 8, I promise that they will leave with a feeling of an awe inspiring experience. It is something that will stay with them forever.

McCarthy: Relay has become so much more than raising money for cancer research and prevention. It is about teachable moments for me.

Going to the schools to have students fill out the chain of hope – links with messages of hope from all over the community that will be displayed in a chain of hope lap at Relay. These links have gotten students to be aware, to be able to write notes to their loved ones. One link that sticks out is a young man that wrote a note to his little brother who lost his battle with cancer two years ago. It was beautiful, heartfelt and it is now in our chain of hope.  

It is seeing Pied Piper Preschool holding up the chain of hope on PTTP and screaming Purple Power. Our next generation of Relayers now know the importance of Relay. This year, Monica [Garrigan] and I went to Elizabeth Ann Seton School and had assemblies about Relay and Cancer Prevention. The kids were attentive and asked great questions. 

On Paint the Town Purple Day – we went to take photos. The children were running up to us and saying they couldn't wait for Relay. They have been collecting cans of tuna and have become involved in Relay for the first time.

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