Relay For Life officials seek help at new venue
Officials for the Relay of Life of Fort Myers Beach are looking for volunteers and teams to participate in the event, which will be held at Diamondhead Beach Resort on March 19-20, from 2 p.m. to 8 a.m.
With 39 days to go as of Tuesday, nine teams comprised of 36 members have collected $5,427 for the American Cancer Society. The Team Rally will be held at Chapel by the Sea today (Feb. 9) at 6 p.m. All registered teams are invited to a fundraising opportunity at the Bay Oaks Arts and Craft Sale at the town’s recreational campus on Feb. 19.
“The (Team Rally) is a chance for teams or anyone interested to learn more about Relay for Life,” said Event Coordinator Audra.Holowesko. “It gives everyone a chance to network with one another and see who they will be relaying with on the night of March 19 to the morning of March 20.
“Our Relay for Life committee runs the team rally and gives them tools and resources to help them be successful whether it be with helping them fund raise to helping them get more team members. It is basically a chance for us to check in with our teams and help them out.”
According to its designed website, 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 from 18 – 24 hours in length.
Although every Relay For Life is different, there are certain traditions at all Relays, no matter where they are held. These traditions help participants celebrate, remember and fight back.
While recent past Beach Relay events have been held at Holiday Inn on the south end of the island, the new venue at DiamondHead is expected to be just as productive.
“This is a brand new relationship, and we are very excited about it,” said Holowesko. “People in the community have been great. DiamondHead has welcomed us with open arms, so we are very thrilled with this relationship.”
On the Beach, Relay for Life begins with a Survivor’s Lap (an inspirational time when survivors are invited to circle the track together) and includes a Luminaria Ceremony (candles are lit inside bags filled with sand, each one bearing the name of a person touched by cancer, while participants walk a lap in silence).
Anyone can participate in Relay For Life. Friends, families, neighbors, classmates, sports teams, etc., can form their own teams. No matter who you are, there’s a place for you at Relay.
The only requirement to participate in Relay For Life is the $100 team commitment fee that is due upon registration. After that, anything raised through individual, team, or online fundraising is graciously accepted.
“We’ll accept teams all the way up to the day of the event,” said Holowesko.
If you want to be part of Relay, you can start a team or join an existing team online. You can also make an online donation.
According to Holowesko, local volunteers are a huge part of a nationwide effort to save lives from cancer, but additional people are needed for the progress to continue.
“We need volunteers to serve on our Relay for Life committee because the American Cancer Society is voluntary run,” she said. “We get a group of volunteers together so that they can take on specific roles to essentially help pull our Relay event together.
The Beach event coordinator said volunteers can be anyone to help organize teams to the logistical part of the event such as setting up tents to accounting.
“We always welcome volunteers to help on the days of the event with set up and break down,” she said. “We also need help in the luminaria process. Fort Myers Beach always sells a lot of luminary bag, so we need help laying bags on the track and things of that nature.”
If you are a cancer survivor or care giver, ACS officials would like to honor you.
“If you are interested in registering with us, there is no cost,” said Holowesko. “The overall goal is to find a cure.”
To sign up, participate or learn how you may volunteer, call 936-1113, or visit RelayForLife.org/fortmyersbeachfl.
-information provided by the American Cancer Society