April 23rd & April 24th were Nash County’s Relay for Life. Many people have never heard of Relay for Life. RelayforLife.Com tell us that the American Cancer Society Relay For Life is a life-changing event that gives everyone in communities across the globe a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease. At Relay, teams of people camp out at a local high school, park, or fairground and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Because cancer never sleeps, Relays are overnight events up to 24 hours in length.
Relay began in 1985 when Dr. Gordy Klatt, a colorectal surgeon in Tacoma, Washington, ran and walked around a track for 24 hours to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Since then, Relay has grown from a single man’s passion to fight cancer into the world’s largest movement to end the disease. Each year, more than 3.5 million people in 5,000 communities in the United States, along with additional communities in 20 other countries, gather to take part in this global phenomenon and raise much-needed funds and awareness to save lives from cancer. Thanks to Relay participants, the American Cancer Society continues to save lives.
We began participating in Relay for Life five years ago when a friend of ours asked us if we were going to go. Her Mom participated on a company sponsored team and asked us to come out and support them. Relay is sort of overwhelming on your first visit. You don’t really get a sense of how powerful it really is. There are booths set up all along the track selling food and other items. There are TONS of people there walking the track. After that first year, we asked how we could start being a part of it. Our friends Wayne & Crystal decided to start a team with just their family and friends. They were calling it Huntin for A Cure and asked us to be part of it. We decided we would sell funnel cakes at our tent. Our team is made up of almost 20 people and has three survivors.
That year we got there early in the morning and started helping set up. My employer allows us time off of work for community service so it couldn’t have worked out better. We put on our orange shirts and got to work. We decorated our tent, set up lights for when it got dark and prepared for the onslaught of people. This was the first year I experienced the survivor lap. The opening ceremony starts off with all the survivors making the first lap around the track. They hold signs up saying how long they’ve been survivors. Every single time I experience this, I cry. All walks of life are represented in that lap. Cancer knows no boundaries, young, old, black, white or purple it does not discriminate.
This year I watched my husband with his purple Mohawk lead the lap. He walked with others who had less than a year as a survivor and I cried tears of joy because I was so proud of him. It was such a powerful moment knowing that we had fought cancer and while our battle is not over, we are winning. All of those people are winning and I was proud to be part of an event that honored those who have fought a long and hard battle.
Once the survivors finish walking their lap we prepare for customers. The air is filled with the smell of fried dough and powdered sugar. People line up and we start taking orders. It’s hard work and by 11pm that night we’re worn out and have run out of funnel cakes after selling almost 500 in 6 hours. Some of our team will continue to walk the track for the rest of the night and sleep in tents. The next day they celebrate children with Cancer and have a kid’s walk and activities for children.
We fall into bed that night exhausted but so happy because we know that while it was a drop in the bucket, we’ve made a difference. We couldn’t do this without the help of all of our family and friends and the whole community we live in. We thank you so much for all of your generosity and support for not only this event but your continued support of us.
Read more about the Nash County Relay for Life on the Rocky Mount Telegram.
UPDATE: The Nash County Relay for Life raised $326,000.00 this year. We thank everyone in helping our cause!
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