More than 300 students and educators at Pleasantdale Middle School in Burr Ridge will march through Walker Park in Burr Ridge Thursday, June 5, in the school’s 17th annual Relay for Life.
The benefit for American Cancer Society will be held from 8:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Walker Park, 7425 S. Wolf Road in Burr Ridge, across Wolf Road from Pleasantdale. Organized by Jennifer Lauermann of Lisle, a former Aurora resident and school teacher, now a Pleasantdale fifth grade science teacher and cancer survivor, the march will include students, teachers and cancer survivors. Held annually on the final day of classes, the event has raised more than $100,000 since its inception in 2008.
After gathering at 8:30 a.m. for a sendoff ceremony, attendees will walk or run a mile-long path at Walker Park. Some students participate to honor the memory of relatives and friends lost to cancer. Features will include refreshments and recorded music.
The event will culminate about 10 a.m. at a park shelter with presentation of a ceremonial check for funds raised.
She invited people to donate in honor or memory of a loved one.
Lauermann lost her father, the late Robert Federighi, formerly of Dallas, Tex., to cancer. Jean Benson of Aurora, Lauermann’s mother, a two-time cancer survivor, will be introduced at the event.
—Jennifer Lauermann