Though the event doesn’t start until June, teams are already raising funds for the upcoming Relay for Life event, featuring this year’s theme of “Colors of Cancer.” Meghan Hamand of Relay said they always start planning the following year’s event as soon as possible because it takes a significant amount of time to prepare for such an event.
Last year, Relay for Life raised over $60,000, and this year they aim to top that. With a steep goal of $65,000, Hamand said they really need all the time they can get.
“When we raise over $60,000 like we did last year, it’s not something that you can do in just one night. It takes a lot of work and a lot of dedication to, number one, put together an event the size of Relay for Life, but number two, mainly, to raise that kind of money. We’ll have teams that will probably do events almost every month throughout the entire year, and those are our big fundraising teams, and we could never do it without them,” Hamand said. (10-15-12 – Hamand – Without Them)
Teams are already participating in a county-wide fundraiser, selling pies just in time for the holidays. Pies will be available throughout most of October and the pastries can be delivered the weekend before Thanksgiving.
Hamand said each team will display a different color representing a form of cancer – pink, for example, to represent breast cancer – in all different shapes, sizes and forms, and each will also provide information about their particular type of cancer. Hamand said her team chose gold to represent childhood cancer, and they will be taking it “to the extreme,” with plans to embellish their team like the Olympics with gold medals and other decorations.
The kickoff event planned for January is quickly approaching. The event will take place on Jan. 10, and Hamand said the event aims to get people excited and “pumped up” for the approaching Relay season.
“So at our January event, there’ll be food and fun and a lot of good times. We’ll pass out all the paperwork that teams need to kind of be the most successful team that they can be, like how to get sponsorship and different fundraising ideas. We’ll unveil the t-shirt design, so that’s always real exciting,” Hamand explained. (10-15-12 – Hamand – Exciting)
Hamand said the organization is still in search of people for a number of open committee positions, including a chair for the whole event. Hamand served as the event chair for two years and said it’s time for someone else to come in with a different outlook, new methods, and fresh ideas. Samantha Sims will be serving as the vice chair of Starke County’s event.
