On Apr. 18, Loyola’s annual Relay for Life event went virtual in response to COVID-19. In addition to live opening and closing ceremonies, the Relay for Life committee shared past performances from music and dance groups on campus. The committee also featured mission statements and informational videos on their social media platforms about the cause. 

From 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., groups like The Chimes, GreySounds, The Belles, the Irish Step Team, and the Dance Company posted past performances to raise awareness for a cause that regularly gains significant support from within the Loyola community. In addition, Relay members posted “gameboards” on personal Instagram stories to garner donations from their friends and family. To celebrate milestones in donations, members responded with TikToks, baby pictures, and other social media challenges. Though virtual, the event still managed to raise over $67,000 for the American Cancer Society. 

“We are really proud about how the virtual event ended up going, and the amount of money we raised was much more than we expected,” said Maxwell Howald ‘20, one of Relay’s senior advisors. “We are thankful for everyone that supported our event.”

Prior to the event, The Greyhound sat down with Howald to talk about the virtual experience. Check out the full interview here.