Organizers of the annual Starke County Relay for Life hope to raise $67,000 for the American Cancer Society during this year’s event. It starts tomorrow at noon at the Hamlet Fairgrounds and continues until 6 a.m. Sunday. Fundraising chair Ericka Taylor-Joseph says all proceeds go to the American Cancer Society to help cancer patients in need.
“It may be getting them back and forth to their treatments. It may be buying a wig for somebody who has lost their hair. Support services – Hope Lodge if they have long-term treatments that they need to have, they can stay in the Hope Lodge with their families. It also goes to cancer research. Besides the United States government, the American Cancer Society is the number one fundraiser for cancer research in America,” she said.
This year’s theme is “Holidays of Hope.” Each of the 18 hours will celebrate a different theme with events like Easter egg hunts, trick-or-treating and Christmas caroling.
The mission of Relay for Life is to Celebrate, Remember and Fight Back. The opening ceremony celebrates cancer survivors and their caregivers and loved ones. At dusk the luminaria ceremony remembers lives lost to cancer by lining the track with luminaria bags decorated in their memory. In addition to the ceremonies, several items will be available for purchase or bid via silent auction, and activities will take place throughout the evening.
Visit www.RelayForLife.org for more information.
