Campus organizations of all kinds have had to adjust their vision, goals, and approaches to achieving them due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Among the affected organizations during this period was Rowan Colleges Against Cancer, which used this year as a time to rebuild and rework its formula.

Rowan Colleges Against Cancer is a student-led organization that works directly with the American Cancer Society to run fundraisers for cancer research and patient support. The organization is famously known for putting together the “Relay For Life” events that serve those who are impacted by cancer.

Unfortunately, the pandemic interrupted years of success for the club, leaving students to have to pilot new ways to get the community involved in their fundraising efforts. This forced the organization to host virtual relays for life events, among other fundraisers, peeling back on the direct interactions that make the cause so special.

This year, under the leadership of junior club president Amanda Bermo, Rowan Colleges Against Cancer has worked to rekindle the spark that aided in the support of many. The club led many different fundraisers throughout the year that included t-shirt sales and pop-up tables at the student center and homecoming. 

“It’s definitely been pretty hard without having a guideline to go off of. But it also made it exciting because we get to have more creative freedom,” said Bermo.

This will be the second year the club has hosted its annual Relay For Life on March 31, raising over $7,000 dollars for the American Cancer Society, while getting much more student engagement for their relay teams.

“This year I can definitely say I’m pretty proud of how it came out. Especially because I have high expectations and high standards for what I want this to be. Although we didn’t completely reach all of our goals, which I’ll admit were really high. We did have more variety, and more people involved which made it great,” said Bermo on this year’s Relay For Life.

The club is looking forward to continuing its work in support of cancer research next year, as Amanda Bermo will serve another year as president and has a lot of plans to push the club forward.

For more information on the organization you can find them @rowanrelayforlife on Instagram.

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