Relay for Life kickoff large, enthusiastic

By SUSAN WHEELDON, CJ Staff Writer
Commonwealth Journal

January 30, 2008 07:34 am

— Approximately 100 people showed up to kick off this year’s Relay for Life event Monday night — the largest number yet for the annual start to the charity fundraiser.
“This is a phenomenal turnout,” said Brooke Cary, community representative for the American Cancer Society.
Relay for Life will be held June 13-14 at Somerset Community College from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. The theme is “Fright Night — Join the Fight — Let’s Scare Away Cancer!” in honor of the event being held on Friday the 13th.
Meanwhile, the survivor dinner will be held on June 10 at 6 p.m. at The Center for Rural Development.
Currently there are 47 teams signed up to take part in the Relay for Life event, the signature fundraising occasion for the American Cancer Society, and the goal is to have 50 teams before the start of the event in June. The target this year is to raise $140,000.
With the 47 already in place, the community has already surpassed the 43 teams they had last year, Cary said.
Cancer survivor Nancy Melton said she wants to help in the fight against cancer and believes it’s in the Lord’s plan for her to help.
Melton found out she had stage one to two breast cancer in 2006. She was the first in her family to have cancer and believes having a mammogram saved her life, as the cancer was caught early.
“(Getting) yearly mammograms is something I preach to friends, family, and anybody,” said Melton.
One thing coming up Melton is excited about is a Lobby Day on Feb. 7. People can sign postcards asking the Kentucky General Assembly to ensure that all women have access to mammograms. On that day, Melton and others will be asking lawmakers to provide a $3 million increase this year for the Kentucky Women’s Screening Program.
Melton explained that people who would like to sign a postcard in support of the lobbying day can do that at the American Cancer Society.
Cary also explained that over the past year, efforts have been initiated to try to keep the Relay program going all year round —just as cancer can happen at any time, the fight against cancer is going on all throughout the calendar.
This year at the Relay for Life event, there will be several new events including:
• A Fight Back Ceremony, which involves relay participants picking up a small relay flag and pledging to save at least one life this year by getting screenings that have been put off, quitting smoking, eating healthy or exercising. Once the pledge is made, people will sign a giant “Fight Back” banner and walk a lap to confirm their pledge.
• Relay for Life has a MySpace page. The site is: www.myspace.com/relayforlifeofpulaski.
• There is a new Relay for Life of Pulaski County 2008 holiday ornament, available for a $10 donation which teams can use as a fundraiser.
Via the all-night Relay for Life event, money goes toward programs such as Reach to Recovery, I Can Cope, Man to Man, Hope Lodge, Look Good Feel Better, Cancer Education, Awareness and Research.
The corporate sponsor for this year’s event is Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital.
If anyone is interested in forming a team, becoming a sponsor, making a donation, or finding out more information about the American Cancer Society and the Relay For Life, call 1-800-ACS-2345, (606) 679-6143 or e-mail brooke.cary@cancer.org. Teams register online at:
www.events.cancer.org/rflpulaskiky.

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