Relay for Life 2012

More than 600 participants in the Relay for Life will spend all night tonight walking in circles to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

 Rockhurst University and the University of Missouri-Kansas City are partnering to bring the fundraiser to Rockhurst’s campus. Their efforts already have raised more than $50,000. Participants in the relay primarily are students, some of whom are cancer survivors, who will compete in 55 teams.

  “This is the first year we are doing this at Rockhurst,” Kim Patterson, the Omaha junior who is organizing the event for campus, said. “It’s going to be a big deal.”

 The relay will start at 6 p.m. in the Lower Bourke Field, just east of the Wilfred C. Bourke Athletic Field.

 At 6:30 p.m. a survivors’ lap is scheduled and at 10 p.m. there will be a Luminaria Ceremony to honor cancer survivors.

 The all-night relay will conclude at 5:30 a.m., April 21.