The student-organized Hope College chapter of Colleges Against Cancer will sponsor its 10th annual Relay for Life event from 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 9, until 7 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10, at the Dow Center.

The Relay for Life is part of a national fund-raising initiative for the American Cancer Society.  The non-competitive event invites members of the Hope College community to form teams and then walk the Dow Center’s track overnight to raise funds for research, education, advocacy and service in the fight against cancer.

The relay will begin with an opening ceremony at 7 p.m. Cancer survivors and caregivers will be invited to participate in laps at 7:30 p.m.

Awareness events focused on different types of cancer have been scheduled across the 12-hour relay.  In addition to the opening, the event will include a 10 p.m. luminaria ceremony honoring those who have lost their lives to cancer, an 11:30 p.m. ceremony emphasizing fighting back against cancer, and a 6:30 a.m. closing ceremony.

Hundreds of students participate in the college’s Relay for Life annually, with more than 460 signed up this year.  The 26 teams that have registered include a variety of student organizations, as well as groups representing academic programs, a residence hall and others who have banded together specifically on behalf of the event.

The total raised by the Hope relay from 2003, when it began, through last year is $348,545.70.

The Dow Center is located at 168 E. 13th St., on 13th Street at Columbia Avenue.