She always wears a purple bracelet etched with the word “hope.” Her cell phone case is purple. She even carries a purple bag.
These are just a few of the reasons Mira Costa junior Eliza Gesten is known as the “relay girl” to her peers.
Purple is the signature color of Relay for Life, the largest fundraising campaign put on by the American Cancer Society (ACS), in which participating fundraising teams spend 24 straight hours running or walking around a track to raise cancer awareness.
Relay for Life fundraisers, held in cities all over the country, has become an integral part of Gesten’s life since she lost her grandmother and subsequently her best friend’s mother to cancer. But after moving to Manhattan Beach in 2009, the Massachusetts native was stunned to learn that no Relay for Life had been established in the city.
“I made the Relay something that I strived to be a part of,” Gesten said. “It has become a big part of my life. So when I moved out here and found out Manhattan Beach didn’t have one, I made it a point to change that.”
So Gesten, 16, decided to start her own local Relay for Life.
But getting there wasn’t quite as easy as she thought it would be.
She immediately contacted ACS officials, but was told to join existing teams in Torrance and Redondo Beach and her attempts at planning the relay were repeatedly put off. But a year of pure doggedness paid off and Gesten was finally granted a meeting with the regional directors to discuss her idea.
“Once you care about something, nothing is going to stand in your way,” Gesten said. “I like to think it was my persistence…I will never forget that day. It was at Starbucks in the middle of summer and I was so nervous. I went by myself, I didn’t want my mom to get involved. I wanted to prove to them that I was going to do it.”
ACS took a leap of faith on a 16-year-old and finally awarded her the opportunity to start a Relay for Life in Manhattan Beach.
“From her emails, you would never know she is a 16-year-old high school student,” said Relay for Life Senior Manager Kelly Russo. “She is a very bright person and dedicated to the cause…Eliza may be young but she has done an amazing job to start a relay in Manhattan Beach.”
“She is an incredible force and wouldn’t take no for an answer,” said Lynne Lear, a Manhattan Beach resident and Public Relations representative for the Gesten’s Relay for Life.
The first Manhattan Beach Relay for Life will be held on Saturday, May 14 at Waller Stadium at on Costa’s campus and has so far taken off with roughly 200 registered participants ranging from high school students to grandparents.
The event is aimed at bringing community members together to raise awareness about cancer, honor the lives of those lost to the disease and celebrate those who have beat it.
Leading up to the relay, teams of two to 24 members raise money toward ACS through sponsorships. On the day of the event, teams set up camp and must have at least one team member on the track for 24 hours in a row, the idea being that cancer never sleeps.
A yoga session will kick off the Manhattan event, which will also include food vendors, health professionals to answer questions, games and music.
“It is like a hometown fair with a cause,” Gesten said. “For 24 hours of our lives we are going to celebrate, remember and fight back against cancer for all of those people who are suffering from cancer everyday.”
Gesten is determined to turn Relay for Life of Manhattan Beach into an annual event that will grow and get bigger over time.
“My life is Relay,” Gesten said. “It is never too late to get involved and sign up.”
Relay for Life of Manhattan Beach will be on May 14 at 8 a.m. and will run for 24 hours. The event will be held at Waller Stadium, 1401 Artesia Boulevard, in the northeast corner of the Mira Costa High School campus. For more information or to register, visit www.relayforlife.org/manhattanbeachca or contact relaymb@verizon.net. ER
