Relay For Life Overview and Brand FAQ
More than just a fundraising walk, the American Cancer Society Relay For Life movement brings together passionate supporters who embody the American Cancer Society’s vision to end cancer as we know it, for everyone. This volunteer-led experience unites communities to celebrate cancer survivors and caregivers, remember loved ones lost to cancer, and raise funds to improve the lives of people with cancer and their families through advocacy, research, and patient support, to ensure everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer.
This FAQ is meant to be a companion to our Relay For Life Brand Guidelines and will help answer some common questions about how we talk about our Relay For Life activities. For the full American Cancer Society Brand Guidelines, click here.
American Cancer Society Vision
End cancer as we know it, for everyone.
American Cancer Society Mission
Improve the lives of people with cancer and their families through advocacy, research, and patient support, to ensure everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer.
Relay For Life Event Name
Name: American Cancer Society Relay For Life
Short: Relay For Life
Plural: Relay For Life events
Acronym: RFL
Rules: Always capitalize the “F” in Relay For Life
As much as possible, use American Cancer Society when referring to Relay For Life, especially the first time it is used in a conversation, presentation, or written document. Do not use the possessive form by adding an apostrophe + s after American Cancer Society, such as American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life. Instead, please use the singular form: American Cancer Society Relay For Life.
Signature Elements of Relay
All Relay For Life events should incorporate the four signature elements of Relay:
- Celebration of Survivors
- Celebration of Caregivers
- Meaningful Luminaria
- Opportunity to Fight Back
Implementation of these elements may vary by event, depending on location, timing, and community needs.
Local Event Naming
The community name should appear after the event name, such as:
- American Cancer Society Relay For Life [Community Name]
Sponsorship and Presenting Sponsor
The presenting sponsor should appear after the event name such as:
· American Cancer Society Relay For Life [EVENT NAME] presented by [SPONSOR NAME]
The same order convention also holds true for a sponsor of a specific part of your Relay For Life event, such as:
· Please join our Survivor Dinner, sponsored by SPONSOR NAME.
· The Luminaria Ceremony, presented by SPONSOR NAME, will begin at 10 p.m.
Luminaria(s) and Ceremonies
A luminaria is a paper bag that is decorated and dedicated to loved ones. It is weighted with sand, canned food, tiles, etc., anything that will support a lit candle or glowstick that will illuminate during the Luminaria Ceremony. Luminaria bags honor every life touched by cancer. They can be dedicated to a survivor, a lost loved one, anyone currently facing cancer or who has overcome it. While Relay For Life is typically discussed in cheerful terms, we should use a compassionate, reverent tone when talking about luminarias, much like we do when talking about the Luminaria Ceremony.
The words “luminary” or “luminaries ” should never be used.
To promote the uniqueness of the more special moments of your event, capitalize those names as proper nouns and stay consistent throughout your messaging: Opening Ceremony, Survivor Ceremony, Survivor Lap, Luminaria Ceremony, Fight Back Ceremony, etc.
Used as a stand-alone term without the ceremony component, luminaria does not need to be capitalized:
- “I am dedicating this luminaria in honor of my best friend.”
Fight/Fight Back Language
The American Cancer Society is moving forward with a slightly refined usage of “fight” language as it related to our efforts to end cancer as we know it, for everyone. We do not want to use fight language when referring to an individual cancer experience. Typically, in a fight, there is a “winner” and a “loser.” The “winner” is most often perceived as someone who fought harder, trained harder, or was “better.” We do not ever want to promote this perception when speaking about a specific person who is facing cancer.
For example:
- We would not to say, “A luminaria is a candle to someone fighting cancer.” Instead, we would say, “A luminaria is a candle dedicated to someone impact by cancer.”
However, we can continue to use fight language as it related to a collective presence, a movement, or an action that a group takes together. For example, we can say:
- Join a Relay For Life today to help fight cancer!
- You can help us make progress in the fight against cancer.
- It is up to all of us to play a part in fighting cancer.
The phrase Fight Back is a key component of all Relay For Life stands for, and the opportunity to fight back is a signature element of Relay, in the form of a “Fight Back Ceremony.” We encourage you to continue to use this phrase in your messaging. For examples:
- Relay For Life gives everyone an opportunity to fight back against cancer.
- Together, we Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back.
Can we talk about "a cure"?
Instead of referring to a single cure when talking about ACS’ work, we prefer to talk about our “research to find cancer’s causes and cures.” To stay true to our brand and beliefs, it’s best to focus on our daily wins and how our Relay fundraising is fueling our efforts to end cancer as we know it, for everyone.