Laura Housfeld was a UC Davis student working toward her degree in communication studies when she had her first American Cancer Society Relay For Life experience. It was part of a commitment she and three other students made when they launched a new campus club — Colleges Against Cancer. For all four club founders, cancer was personal. For Housfeld, it was one of the ways she honored her mother, who died of breast cancer.

“I felt like I had to do something about it, and this seemed like a great idea,” she said.

But she honestly didn’t know what to expect at her first relay. She knew that she or one of her teammates would be running or walking on a track at all times over a 24-hour period.

Housfeld knew that the first lap would be run by cancer survivors only and there would be a “luminaria” of lit candles at dusk to remember those who have died of the disease. She knew there would be a closing event where everyone would commit in their own way to fighting back against cancer. What she didn’t know was just how exhilarating and, in the end, meaningful it would be.

“After that first relay, I was hooked. Nothing else I had done before helped me feel more like I was doing something so personally connected and important about cancer. I just knew I had to bring the event to Davis,” Housfeld said.

Passion, enthusiasm critical

She was certain the strong sense of caring and community at Davis would be a natural fit for a relay. However, of all the options the American Cancer Society provides for raising funds for cancer research and patient programs, proposals for new relays are scrutinized most carefully. Relays are the organization’s most successful fundraisers in part because of the high standards set for new ones. Each planning team has to demonstrate clear commitment, organization, teamwork and, most of all, passion.

“The UC Davis students who first approached us clearly met all the criteria for launching a relay, but it was their enthusiasm that really won us over. What has surprised us is that six years later there is still that same level of enthusiasm among the new event leads,” said Adrienne Record, Relay For Life manager for the American Cancer Society in California. “By every standard we set, they are a big success.”

Housfeld set a very high standard for relays at her alma mater. In fact, during its inaugural year in 2004, she said, “we blew all of our fundraising targets out of the water,” raising $55,000 and involving 89 teams of eight-to-15 participants each. That success is still a source of great pride for Housfeld, who now works in fund development for the society in Oakland. “The Davis relay has been the highest earning college relay in California ever since,” she adds.

Record said that the UC Davis team is always neck-in-neck with UCLA for top college earners in the state, and the Aggies have so far always won that friendly competition in the end. She credited their success in part with the fact that the planning team meetings never seem to feel like work: “They truly have a lot of fun with it.”

‘A little harder this year’

Now, psychology student Kristen Lohse and international relations student Chelsea Fahr are leading the relay planning and they, too, are expecting another big year, even in a tough economy.

“It has been a little harder this year to get sponsors and companies to commit,” Lohse said. “But we adjusted our strategy. We’re asking for more small donations from more people, and so far that is working.”

Lohse, Fahr and their team are going to community events, like farmers’ markets, and setting up a booth where sponsors and donors can sign up to participate. They are contacting local businesses for donations. And they are asking everyone they know whose life has been touched by cancer to help.

“Unfortunately, that’s pretty much everyone,” Lohse said. “It’s hard to find someone who hasn’t dealt with the disease themselves or who doesn’t know of someone who has.”

Permanent campaign heralded

She is confident they’ll be top earners again, especially since they currently have 200 teams signed up — the largest number yet for UC Davis. She’s also certain that the tradition of enthusiasm will pass easily to the next team. Right after this year’s relay, to be held on Toomey Field on April 4 and 5, they will meet and elect next year’s planning committee.

“We want to make the transition quickly so there is no downtime,” she said. “Cancer never rests. So why should we?”

Those who want to lend their support to this year’s relay can find out how on the event Web site at www.relayforlife.org/ucdavisca or by calling one of the event chairs, Kristen Lohse at (530) 320-2173 or Chelsea Fahr at (925) 788-0495.

Karen Finney is a senior public information representative for the UC Davis Health System.