Dateline: August 1, 2002
Relay for Life plans to earn $10,000 for cancer
By
Carrie Helms, Clarendon Enterprise
From
Friday night to the wee small hours of Saturday morning, more than 200
walkers on 15 teams will be walking in Clarendon’s Relay for Life to
raise $10,000 for cancer research.
The
Relay for Life is an all-night event sponsored by the American Cancer
Society to raise funds for cancer research, education, and treatment costs
for underprivileged patients.
“Relay
for Life is a nationwide project,” said Dawn Watson, Donley County
Extension Agent and Chairperson of the ACS Committee, “But each
community tailors it to fit their needs.”
Preparations
have been going on for months, but the real fun begins Friday, August 2 at
7 p.m. at the Clarendon College track.
“The
walk begins at 7:00 with a Survivor’s Lap for those who have survived
cancer,” Watson said. “It will be a pretty emotional event.”
Beginning
with the second lap, each team must have a walker on the track at all
times and trade at 30-minute intervals for the entire 12 hours.
“Teams
will be awarded for most laps walked and most money raised,” Watson
said. “A lot of them will have fundraisers going on all night long until
6 a.m.”
Teams
will be selling everything from drinks and snacks to glow -sticks for fun
after dark. Each team will
also set up a campsite to be judged.
“It
will be competitive right up until the last minute,” Watson said. “The
campsite judges can be bribed, and all that bribe money will go to ACS.”
The
committee has scheduled live entertainment with musical guests, cowboy
poetry, a live broadcast from KEFH, and maybe even a bachelor/bachelorette
auction.
“We’ve
set up several tournaments like horseshoes, washers, volleyball, 42, and a
dunking booth,” Watson said. “We want to have a real family atmosphere
so even if people aren’t walking, we want them to come out and have a
good time.”
At
10 p.m. there will be a Luminary Service where people can purchase a light
in honor or in memory of a loved one who has died of cancer.
“There
is no one whose life has not been touched in some way by cancer,” Watson
said, “and the service is just another way to honor the ones we love.”
Breakfast,
cooked by cancer survivor Alan Graham, will be served at 6:30 a.m.
followed by awards.
“It
will be a fun time, but also a very emotional night,” Watson said. “My
eleven-year-old nephew just recently had his leg amputated because of a
three-year battle with cancer.”