LAFAYETTE -- The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Tippecanoe County will officially get underway with a gathering at the Lafayette Jefferson High School cafeteria, 1801 S. 18^th St., for a kickoff party to launch its annual fundraising efforts on Monday, Jan. 28.

Although the Relay For Life of Tippecanoe County is more than four months away, now is the time to get involved. One in every 100 Americans participates in this fundraising event that has become a global phenomenon. Residents are invited to attend the kickoff celebration to learn more about the upcoming event and how they can become part of an exciting overnight event that will pave the way to a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

Relay For Life participants and visitors   have a chance to celebrate the victory of local cancer survivors during the Survivors Lap; remember those who are fighting cancer or those have lost their battle to the disease during the Luminaria Ceremony; and participate in the Fight Back Ceremony, which gives everyone a chance to proclaim his or her own way of taking action against the disease.    

Donations can be made to this local Relay For Life event by visiting RelayForLife.org.   Community members also can start or join a team by following the links to their local Relay event.

The 2013 Relay For Life of Tippecanoe County will take place on May, 31^st at Jefferson High School beginning at 7 p.m. For more information about the kickoff event or on how you can get involved, contact Lindsay Walls at 314-609-2347 or Lindsay.Walls@cancer.org.

The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end cancer for good. As a global grassroots force of three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping you stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early, helping you get well by being there for you during and after a diagnosis, by finding cures through groundbreaking discovery and fighting back through public policy. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.8 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, an estimated 13.7 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.