Lynbrook Planning 5th Annual Relay for Life

For Lynbrook resident Adam Glickman, participating in the village's annual Relay for Life is a way for him to give back after his father died of lung cancer in 2004.

“For years after he passed away, my wife and I were trying to figure out what to do to honor him,” said Glickman, who began participating three years ago. When he found out about the event, he said, “It just clicked.”

Glickman became such an active participant that the Relay for Life organizers asked him to be the chairman of this year’s event. He is now responsible for the entire planning of the day and for heading up any pre-Relay fundraising efforts.

While students in the Lynbrook School District sell visors, bracelets and t-shirts to ramp up their own fundraising efforts, Glickman is using his connections in local softball circles to organize the first Relay for Life softball tournament on May 15.

Glickman said he hoping to have the dads of Lynbrook, Hewlett, East Rockaway and Lawrence duke it out on the softball field. “It’s competitive, but not serious,” said Glickman, who plays on a number of recreational softball teams in the area. “It’s for a good cause and for a good time.”

He will also be putting his college bartending skills to the test when he pours drinks at on May 12, from 7 p.m. to midnight. “The more people that show up, the more money we can donate to Relay for Life,” said Glickman, who will be donating all of his tips for the event.

The Relay is a family affair with his young children, Jordan and Danielle, participating in the Relay, and his wife, Carrie, helping to collect gift cards to use for raffles on the day of the event.

Family friend Kyleen Bushroe also helps the cause by collecting items to be raffled off and spreading fundraiser information to local businesses and her church.

“I got involved with Relay for Life because my mother and grandmother are both breast cancer survivors,” said Bushroe, who began participating in the event in her hometown of Greencastle, Ind. She has continued the tradition since moving to New York in 2008.

Glickman said that being the chairman of the event has opened more doors than he ever could have imagined. “When [business owners] get a piece of paper that says 'American Cancer Society,' I’d say 95 percent of the people get involved by donating a raffle or donating something,” said Glickman.

Lynbrook’s fifth Relay for Life will be held on May 21 at . Relay for Life is the signature fundraising event for the American Cancer Society. Participants create teams and each team member takes turns walking around a track. The event is typically held overnight, and the goal is to always have at least one member walking at all times. While in the past the Lynbrook Relay has been held overnight, this year’s event will not be.

With less than a month left to go, there are 115 participants who have raised about $15,000. Glickman said that his team, "The Lynbrook Buckeyes," are about halfway to their $12,000 fundraising goal, which is $2,000 more than they raised last year.

For more information on how to participate in Glickman’s softball tournament, email him at aglickman@corpspecla.com.