Red, white and yellow lanterns were seen everywhere as thousands of people participated in the Light the Night Walk at Cleveland University Saturday, Sept. 30. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light The Night Walk funds treatments to find a cure for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma as well as to also improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

This year, National Honors Society committed to quarterly service trips to help serve the community. For their first service trip, NHS sent members to participate in the walk and encourage donations. Although not every member attended, the girls that did go got to participate in the walk, holding lanterns.

“Being able to raise donations to fight cancer while simultaneously having the unforgettable experience of seeing all the lanterns was amazing,” junior Sade Dugbo said.

The fundraiser featured activity booths, food trucks and a remembrance gallery. To make the night more memorable, junior Megan Broomfield performed a dancing routine with her dance studio, Jody Phillips Dance Company. She has danced at the event many times before.

“It makes me feel blessed to have my health and the ability to dance for the people and hopefully take their mind off of reality, even for just a two minute dance,” Broomfield said.  

The opening ceremony of Light the Night started at 7:45 p.m. with the national anthem. Meteorologist Gary Amble opened the ceremony with his own personal story and united the crowd. A few other people shared their personal stories that represented resilience to cancer showing everyone that they are not alone in their journeys against cancer.

Yellow lanterns were then lit and raised to resemble those who have lost a loved one to blood cancer. Cancer survivors were asked to join the survivor circle and raised their own white lanterns. Finally, red lanterns were lit to show support to the victims and those who have passed. After a moment of silence, people were asked to join the walk and “light the night.” A fireworks show ended the event.

“I felt inspired by all the people I saw walking. We were all there to support families and victims of blood cancer. It didn’t have the solemn feeling that you would expect; it was more like a lively, hopeful gathering,” junior Sarah White said.