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Mostly Cloudy A ‘phenomenal’ show of support
Malverne hosts second annual Relay for Life
The atmosphere was somber yet celebratory on May 4, when nearly a thousand turned out at Malverne High School in a strong show of support for the second annual Relay for Life in Malverne.
“Cancer has affected just about everybody I know,” said Bill Holzapfel, a co-chairman of this year’s Relay for Life event. Holzapfel’s wife, Mary, is a survivor of breast cancer, and through the annual event, they, along with many, honor survivors and those lost to cancer.
“I have lost far, far, far too many family and friends to cancer in my lifetime,” Holzapfel said.
This is the second year that the Malverne school district has hosted the Relay for Life fundraiser – an event that helps communities celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease, and helps to raise funds for the American Cancer Society. The aim of the event, Holzapfel said, is to provide people who are fighting cancer with hope, and to raise funds in the hope of one day finding a cure.
The event kicked off at 5:30 p.m. in the high school cafeteria with a special dinner for cancer survivors and their caregivers, made possible by generous donations from many eateries and businesses in Malverne as well as surrounding towns. At the conclusion of the dinner, all survivors were invited to surround — and later indulge in — a cake, which was decorated with the word “Hope.”
The event also featured a DJ, as well as Zumba exercise sessions and dance performances, and participants embraced numerous raffle opportunities, Holzapfel said.
At 7:00 p.m., Holzapfel, Paul Gruol, director of special events for the American Cancer Society and Michael Taylor, who coaches Malverne High School’s JV girls’ softball and helped bring Relay for Life to Malverne last year, kicked off the event’s opening ceremonies.
“I have not met such a group of passionate people in my life,” Gruol said of the Malverne community during his opening remarks. In what made for a powerful moment during the event, participants were asked to form a fist and raise their hand in the air if they, or a loved one, had been affected by cancer. A wave of participants obliged, making for a touching, memorable moment that united the community.
