The annual Niles-Buchanan Relay for Life event begins at noon Saturday at Niles High School, 1441 Eagle St., Niles.

Chairperson Margaret Dawson said organizers have set a goal of raising $76,000. The event brought in $72,000 last year.

Proceeds support the American Cancer Society’s fight against cancer.

Relay For Life is an overnight relay-style event featuring teams of people camping out around a track. Members of each team take turns walking around the track for the duration of the event. Food, games and activities provide entertainment and fundraising opportunities.

Each Relay For Life features a survivors lap, when survivors circle the track together; a luminaria ceremony, when candles are lit inside bags filled with sand; and a fight back ceremony, when individuals make a personal commitment to save lives by taking up the fight against cancer.

The Niles-Buchanan Relay for Life begins with an opening ceremony at noon. It is followed by a victory/caregivers lap at 6 p.m. and the survivor’s dinner at 6:30 p.m. The luminaria ceremony is scheduled for 10 p.m., while the closing ceremony is 8 a.m. Sunday.

Dawson said more than $44,000 had been raised as of Wednesday evening.

“That’s a great number for this time of the week,” she said.

More than 200 people and over 40 teams were registered online as of Wednesday to participate in the event.

Anyone is encouraged to sign up, donate or attend this weekend’s relay.

For more information, visit relayforlife.org and enter Niles, Michigan into the event search box.