By Sue Bergstrom for VCN –
In May 1985, Dr. Gordy Klatt walked and ran for 24 hours around a track in Tacoma and raised over twenty thousand dollars for the American Cancer Society. The following year 339 people in 19 teams joined him and raised thirty three thousand dollars. That was the beginning of Relay for Life.
More than five thousand Relay for Life events take place around the world and in virtual reality with four million people participating. 2015 Relay for Life Valdez takes place from six p.m. Friday, June 5th through three p.m. June 6th at the Kelsey Dock parking lot.
Valdez Relay for Life started in 2003. In 2014 sixty thousand dollars was raised by the Valdez event. Roughly half of that money was donated by commercial sponsors and half by individual pledges. The money raised was used for financial assistance, fuel, items such as hats scarves, turbans, wigs and prostheses for cancer patients, travel assistance and lodging during treatment. American Cancer Society also provides support groups for patients, caregivers and family members affected by cancer. As of four p.m. on April 11, this year’s Valdez Relay has nine teams with fifty-five participants who have already raised nearly twenty-one thousand dollars in pledges, sponsorships and donations.
|
|
Relay for Life is a community gathering in which teams of people camp out at a local high school, park, or fairground and take turns walking or running around the track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event-because cancer never sleeps. Each year millions of people gather to raise money to help fund research to prevent cancer, save lives, and diminish the suffering of people with cancer, their support network and families. But that description doesn’t convey the spirit, sense of community and fun involved in participating in this unique event.
The Survivor Lap is often the first lap of a Relay, often followed by speeches by the survivors. As the event progresses, people run and walk around the path or track in teams, pairs and solo. They run with dogs and with babies in strollers or on their backs. There are people in wheelchairs and kids on bikes. Couples hold hands. So do kids. Teams come in costumes and face paint. People hoola hoop, skip, jump rope and even dance as they round the course. There are announcements, speakers, awards and activities throughout the day and night. The luminaria light up the night. Simple white paper bags, some decorated, some plain, dedicated to people affected by cancer; they hold votive candles that turn them into something stirring and magical. And you get to camp out in the middle of town with hundreds of other people. Yes there is music. People share snacks, visit one another’s ‘camp sites’, cook out, play cards and even baseball. It’s like holding a great big party that somehow raises money for a good cause. And in Valdez it happens with the mountains and the ocean as a backdrop.
