Holland has participated in Light the Night since 2002. “We’ve tweaked things and improved things… but overall the mission has stayed the same, which is camaraderie and support,” she said on Saturday after her speech to more than one hundred participants at Light the Night.

One of the people in Holland’s audience was Rianna Johnson-Levy, a sophomore at Community High School. “I chose to do Light the Night because I lost my friend, Emma, to cancer… leukemia and lymphoma, it affects a lot of people. Right now, it’s the leading cause in children’s deaths from disease,” she said. Johnson-Levy was the captain of her Light the Night team, Team Emma, which raised over $5,000 for leukemia and lymphoma research. “I’ve been spreading the word on Facebook, and I’ve had my parents take in fliers and folders to work, and [I’ve] sent the emails out to friends and stuff,” she said.

Johnson-Levy said she appreciated the structure of Light the Night’s donation system. “I really liked how I knew that the money wasn’t just going to more advertising; it was going to actually helping families individually and helping for research,” she said. Their website lists specifically what your money is going towards, whether it be a pamphlet for patients or a family support group, she said.

Sara Meyers, who volunteered at Light the Night, got involved simply aiming to give back: “[We were] looking for a way that we could do some good for the community… We decided it would be a good fit for us,” she said. It was not until after Meyers decided to volunteer for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society that one of her coworkers was diagnosed with cancer. “This is just our way to give back to the community,” she said.

Jessica Gibbney volunteered with Meyers on Saturday, passing out water bottles to Light the Night participants. Gibbney’s father was diagnosed with cancer, which she — like Meyers — discovered after she decided to volunteer. “It’s just nice to be around people who understand,” she said.

At Light the Night, each participant is given a colored balloon: red in support of the cause, white in honor of a survivor, and gold in remembrance of someone who passed away from the disease. “Last year, the walk was a month after my friend Emma died. I think everyone in the community was feeling the need to come together again in support of each other and support for the cause, and we just wanted to do what we could to help other people,” Johnson-Levy said. “…it gave us all a feeling of like, we’re not the only people out there that this happened to, and that we know it’s not fair, but it’s not just us.”