Saline-Gallatin Relay for Life of rallies ahead of June 12 event
"It's going to be a great relay this year," said Lindsay DuBois, second-year Saline-Gallatin Relay for Life specialist.
DuBois said there have been a few changes to the American Cancer Society fundraising event this year, including a change in venue and time.
Formerly held in Eldorado, the relay race will take place in Harrisburg's Paul Emery Park, which recently received several updates and improvements.
"We're so excited to work with them this year, and to get people out there to see the park," DuBois said, adding that the park is the perfect place to host a Relay event. "It's a nice location for families. Kids can play, and there's shade from the trees, and a stage."
Instead of a 12-hour marathon from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., the event will be shortened to 6 p.m. to midnight.
"It's hard for a lot of people to stay overnight, especially with kids," DuBois said. "We're hoping this (shorter event) will allow more people to come out."
This year, 13 teams and a total of 61 participants have signed up for the event, raising a cumulative $3,998 so far, according to the event's website. DuBois said the goal this year is to register 200 participants, and she hopes to draw at least 400 registered and non-registered guests to the June event.
Some teams, such as the Illinois Youth Center (IYC) team, are returning to the event stronger than ever.
Over 40 individuals have joined "Team Betty," the IYC team captained by pharmacy technician and staff assistant Susan Patterson. The team is named after Patterson's mother, Betty, who has stage-four breast cancer.
Team Betty hosted a bake sale at Kroger, started a raffle for blankets made by a team member's mother and placed decorated water bottles out for loose change collection. The team plans to purchase team t-shirts and to sell cancer awareness bracelets and fans the night of the relay.
Captain Patterson said the team is still looking for new members.
"We've had a lot of helpers and friends, and the list is still growing," said Patterson, who has participated in the event since 2004<span class="s1">.</span> "We didn't know we'd have so much participation, but this is the largest group I've seen so far."
A special part of the June event is the "luminaria" lighting ceremony, where decorated paper bags filled with sand and a candle light up in memory of those lost to cancer and in honor of survivors. This year, the luminarias will be placed on the sidewalks of the park near the fountain.
Chair of the luminaria committee Charlotte Brown, a patient care coordinator and case manager at Eldorado Rural Health<span class="s1">,</span> says the lighting of the luminarias is "a very nice service for those that are survivors and who lost family members to take a moment for them."
The luminaria service begins at 9 p.m. on the day of the event.
Brown said the money raised by the event largely goes directly back into service offered in the counties, such as to programs that help those with cancer arrange transportation, understand their medication and find financial counseling.
The Saline-Gallatin County Relay for Life will also be offering a free meal for survivors and their caregivers on Thursday, May 21 at 6 p.m. at the McKinley Avenue Baptist Church Life Center, 410 W. Sloan St. in Harrisburg.
The Saline-Gallatin County Relay for Life event will take place on Friday, June 12 from 6 p.m. to midnight at the Paul Emery Park, 921 W Poplar St., in Harrisburg. The event is free and open to the public.
For more information or to join the cause, contact Lindsay DuBois at (618) 998-9258.