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Community Corner

HAUPPAUGE'S RELAY FOR LIFE EVENT RAISES $36,000 FOR AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY

Hauppauge High School Students Nick and Deanna Lupo – whose young lives have been dramatically affected by cancer – recently spearheaded an inaugural Relay for Life event that raised close to $36,000 for the American Cancer Society. “I think I speak for Deanna and myself when I say that we wanted to organize this event for our father. He was an amazing man who always made people laugh and always put the happiness of others before his own. Deanna and I felt that what happens during a Relay for Life event is what our father was all about,” stated Senior Nick Lupo. “We also wanted to show others that it's okay to say someone you love has or had cancer and that there are so many others who are in similar situations. We really wanted to bring the Hauppauge community together, and we feel that we were able to achieve that goal for the people of our hometown.”

More than 250 Hauppauge community members participated in the Relay for Life event. The Relay for Life teams camped out overnight at the High School and took turns walking around the track. The event was 12 hours long, and because cancer never sleeps, each team had at least one participant walking on the track at all times. “There were many touching moments throughout the event, but the Luminaria Ceremony was particularly poignant,” stated Hauppauge High School Senior Nick Karavolias. “Loved ones who have been lost to cancer were remembered and honored as students, staff and community members walked arm-in-arm around the track which was illumined by the memorial luminarias.”

Relay for Life is a community-driven, overnight event that celebrates cancer survivors, remembers those who have been lost and fights back against the disease by raising money and awareness to help eliminate cancer as a major health problem. In more than 5,200 communities and 20 countries, Relay for Life events comprise the signature fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. 

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