(May 25, 2012) — For 24 hours, purple wristbands streaked through the track on the Relay for Life field in the name of cancer. With $83,597.71 raised, the Foothills Relay for Life committee brought their efforts together on Clark’s field May 12 after a yearlong effort of painting the town purple and holding rummage sales, rallies, events and fundraisers. One of the 29 teams involved, Clark’s team, “Panthers Against Cancer!” contributed $3,570.02, organizing over 25 fundraisers and collecting donations since the beginning of the school year. Surpassing their original goal to raise $2,500, the Panthers Against Cancer were awarded a silver team fundraising badge. Clark’s 23-member team came in as the 6th top contributor this year. Of the three participating high schools, Clark raised $947.52 more than St. Francis’ 26-member team and $139.02 more than Crescenta Valley’s 42-member team. “I was really proud because this was all kind of dumped on me so I had a hard time adjusting,” said team captain senior Sara Anis. “But I have to say this year was much better than last because I had a better idea of what was going on.” Anis coordinated over 25 fundraisers, and is still planning for one more, with the team’s new advisor, P.E. and health teacher, Chris Axelgard. After long-time Relay advisor and cancer survivor Carol Pettegrew stepped down from her position this year, Axelgard decided to step up to the task after promoting the event in his classes for several years. Anis said that even though it was her second year being team captain, the experience this year was a new one for her. “I was so used to going to Mrs. [Pettegrew] for help because she had been a part of it for so long,” she said. “I had to teach Mr. Axelgard everything to do… but he helped us a lot in the end so it all worked out.” Heavy involvement and participation from the senior class this year both excited and worried Anis. Making up for most of the initial team at the beginning of the year, nine seniors participated this year; with some like Patricia Udiong and Dikran Matevosyan even dedicating their entire senior projects to the cause. Matevosyan created a banner for the team spelling out the word “hope” with photographs of team members in purple while Udiong baked cookies and cake pops to sell at the event. “I think Relay is a great way for people to get involved in a great cause,” Matevosyan said. “I wanted to do something special for it and help out the cause.” In all, the 2012 Relay for Life team ended up being one of Clark’s largest and most active, attributed to an upswing of freshmen participants. “We recruited a lot more freshmen — that definitely helped us with our [fundraising] goal and next year the team wouldn’t be so empty because of all the seniors leaving,” Anis said. With increased participation, senior Jessica Palacios said that this year’s club was more fun to be a part of, saying “it was really good because there were a lot more people, especially freshmen and sophomores.” Palacios also encourages more people to join the cause; she said, “It’s also a way to help other people get through [cancer], I think, because you know you’re not the only one.” Looking forward, senior Jonas Kemp said that he still wants to continue supporting the efforts made by Relay for Life for those reasons. Kemp said that he would be able to continue with Relay for Life at Stanford University, where he will be leaving to for college in the fall. “I feel the need to continue supporting the cause. Four years of support at Clark is a good start, but I don’t feel it’s enough,” he said.