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BIDDEFORD, Maine

UNE senior organizes on-campus Relay for Life

Danielle Demers, UNE marine biology major ’09, is helping to organize her third UNE Relay for Life to benefit the American Cancer Society. Demers is the volunteer founder of the event at UNE.

Demers organized last year‚Äôs event, which drew 200 participants and raised $20,000. ‚ÄúThe students and faculty really showed their spirit,‚Äù said Demers.  ‚ÄúMany of us have been touched by cancer through the diagnosis of a family member, friend, co-worker or fellow student.  The dollars raised at this event will help raise funds for the Society‚Äôs research, education, advocacy and patient service programs to help in the fight against cancer.‚Äù  Her goal this year is to increase the participants to over 250 and to raise $22,000.

At a ceremony last April, the Maine Campus Compact presented Demers with the Heart and Soul Award at the Maine State House. The award honors students who have demonstrated a commitment to using campus-based resources to address community needs.

The Relay for Life fundraising event takes place on Friday, March 20, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. through Saturday, March 21, 2009 at 6:00 a.m. at the Campus Center on the Biddeford Campus. Survivors are celebrated during the Survivors Lap at the Opening Ceremonies of the event at 6:30 p.m., and cancer victims are honored and remembered at a Luminaria ceremony at 11:00 p.m. All UNE students, faculty and staff, alumni and families, as well as people from outside the UNE community, are welcome to join us at the event.

For more information, go to: www.relayforlife.org/unebiddefordme.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.