Relay for Life set for June 5

The Relay for Life of Cole County officials announced the details for the 2015 relay on Thursday afternoon, with one change to the annual schedule.

The next event will start June 5 at the Jefferson City Jaycees Fairgrounds with the theme "Sporting a Cure" and the goal of raising $265,000. This year, however, the event's hours will be slightly shortened. In the past, the event was from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., but this year the event will conclude at 2 a.m.

The shortened time is to encourage more teams to attend the closing ceremony, which in the past has been a problem because of the late hours, said Molly Steinbeck, specialist for the relay. She also shared that this year's focus is to get more teams to participate in the events.

The relay is the signature fundraising event for the American Cancer Society. At the event, cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, friends and families take to the track and walk through the night to represent the ongoing struggle with a sickness that never sleeps, according to a Relay for Life news release.

The relay raises awareness for the society and the illness, but also needed funds for cancer prevention, early detection, treatment, patient support and research to find a cure, officials said.

This will be the 30-year anniversary for the national relay effort, and the 20-year anniversary for the Cole County relay specifically, Steinbeck said. The first county relay was in 1995, and since then, the organization has raised more than $4.6 million for the American Cancer Society's quest to find a cure, according to data provided by relay officials.

The 2014 event was able to raise more than $247,000 with 85 teams participating - $3,766 more than the previous year. More than 320 cancer survivors attended or participated in the 2014 relay.

At the first Relay for Life in 1985, one doctor in Tacoma, Washington walked more than 80 miles in 24 hours, said Lesley Trippensee, member of the event leadership team. Now there are more than 6,000 relay events worldwide.

To sign up for a team or volunteer for the event, visit relayforlife.org/colecomo. For information about cancer, call the American Cancer Society's 24-hour hotline at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.