Andover’s Relay for Life chapter held a fundraiser on April 18 in the form of a Spikeball tournament on the Great Lawn. This was part of a series of fundraisers in anticipation of the program’s main event on May 9, which will take place on Andover’s Great Lawn and conclude with a luminaria ceremony.
Andover Relay for Life is a non-profit organization that raises money for the American Cancer Society. This year, Andover’s chapter has worked to engage the student body through various fundraisers, including basketball tournaments, themed dinners, and raffles. Marcela Hernandez ’25, President of Andover Relay for Life, explained how the Spikeball Tournament event was created.
“Basically our role on campus is every year we raise money through fundraisers and different events,” said Hernandez. “Traditionally we’ve done raffles. The Girls’ Varsity Hockey team and the parents of the team have been really great because they’ve always helped us put together a giant raffle that happens in the winter. We also did some things for Valentine’s Day,” said Hernandez.
She continued, “Since the beginning of the year, we’ve always said that we wanted to run a Spikeball tournament, specifically because as we know that once the weather gets really nice, we all love to be out on the lawn and hanging out with each other. So we thought this was a great way to be also super competitive… It was fun just to be able to find a pair, find a friend, or even show up alone and be able to participate in this tournament.”
Lisa DeBoer ’26, Vice President of Relay for Life, noted the difficult timing of the tournament with the Easter long weekend. Despite a lower attendance, she recalled that the event still gained a positive reception from students.
“We didn’t get the turnout that we had expected in large part because it was held the Friday of the four day long weekend. More than half of the student population had REACH requests to go off campus,” said DeBoer. “Although a lot of people had said they wanted to come to me in person, they weren’t able to come on that day because their plans changed and they went home. It wasn’t the most successful in terms of fundraising. But I do think that people had fun and they enjoyed it.”
Nate Kreppner ’27, who participated in the tournament, elaborated on how it drew him to support the fundraiser by donating to the cause. He offered suggestions for similar fundraisers hosted by Andover Relay for Life in the future.
“I happened to be on the lawn at that time and found out that there was a Spikeball tournament. [I] donated to Relay for Life and participated in the tournament with about I’d say five or six other people,” said Kreppner. “It was maybe a little bit [of a] poor day because there weren’t a lot of people on campus to participate. But if it was run right after school or right before it gets dark, I feel like it could be really effective in raising money,” said Kreppner.
DeBoer ’26 explained the mission behind Relay for Life’s events, recognizing the duality of fundraising and honoring those who passed. The main event on May 9th will follow this model, as games and music will precede the luminaria lap of silence.
“We hope that everybody has a lot of fun at the event because it’s supposed to be an event to get the community together. I’m always surprised by how many people have very close relatives or friends or know people who’ve been impacted by cancer. Relay is just a time for the community to get together and foster understanding and hope, but also to remember and respect the people who might have passed away from cancer. So we want it to be both an educational event, a community event, and obviously a fundraising event. Those are our main goals,” said DeBoer.
Hernandez noted the potential of similar tournaments in raising awareness for cancer among students. She hopes to continue these events in the future as an active effort to promote Relay for Life’s cause at Andover.
“Another thing we might try to do similarly is the soccer tournament, which we did last spring as well. Many kids went, and that was really fun. It just goes and speaks with our whole goal of being able to raise awareness [and] promote it. Even though our main event is [on] May 9, and we’ll have games there and have music and food for everyone to come and just hang out, smaller tournaments are just a great way to start bringing those people together and be able to meet new people as well. They’re always really successful, so we hope to just keep on chipping at that,” said Hernandez.
