By Lea Kahn
For several hours May 20, the Lawrence High School track will be filled not with track stars, but with cancer survivors, their caregivers and their supporters at the Relay for Life of Lawrence Township cancer research fundraiser.
The Relay for Life is the American Cancer Society’s signature fundraising event, and the Lawrence Township public school district has signed up for the second year in a row to support it. Each school building has contributed at least one team to the event.
The goal is to raise $90,000 for cancer research, said Jennifer Polakowski, the school district’s grants coordinator. Last year, the Relay for Life of Lawrence Township raised $75,000. More than $40,000 has already been pledged toward this year’s goal of $90,000, she said.
The Relay for Life is scheduled to take place, rain or shine. If the weather is poor, the event will be moved indoors, said Ms. Polakowski. She is co-chairing the event with Rebecca Gold, the school district’s director of personnel.
About 60 teams, totaling more than 400 members, have signed up to participate, Ms. Polakowski said. Teams can sign up to participate on the day of the event. A team may consist of one person or many people.
The teams that have signed up so far range from those connected to the school district, such as the Lawrence High School girls field hockey team, to teams sponsored by American Legion Post 414, the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville and Radiology Affiliates Imaging, she said.
”It really is a Lawrence community event,” she said.
Although the event does not kick off until the teams arrive to register at 4:30 p.m., activities have been planned for the students during the school day, Ms. Polakowski said. To get the students in the spirit, a torch run has been planned for the schools.
Each school has a team who will walk or run the torch from school building to school building, she said. A couple of students and the principal will make the torch run, beginning with the Slackwood Elementary School and handing it off to each of the other schools until it ends up at Lawrence High School.
Later in the day, once the registration for the 60 or so adult teams is completed at the high school track, the teams will convene on the track, Ms. Polakowski said. Philip Meara, the superintendent of schools, will speak and the LHS Red Scare marching band will play.
Then, cancer survivors, their caregivers and families will complete the first lap on the track, she said. For the next three hours until the event ends at 9 p.m. each of the 60-plus teams must have a member on the track.
”The whole idea is that anyone can participate,” Ms. Polakowski said. “Yes, cancer is in our lives, but we can fight back. We are fighting back against cancer by educating ourselves, our community and family members.”
”(The school district) is in the business of educating people, and we feel that we are a community in Lawrence,” she said. “It is important to open up our arms and embrace the community. A lot of people have colleagues, friends or family that have been touched by cancer.”
For more information about the Relay for Life of Lawrence Township, go to the school district’s Web site at www.ltps.org or email Ms. Polakowski at [email protected] or Ms. Gold at [email protected].

