This year’s Redcliffe Relay for Life is on 5th and 6th of August, an overnight vigil with candle lighting ceremony. More than just a relay, this is an event to raise cancer awareness and to give support to all cancer patients and survivors in Redcliffe’s community.
The Relay for Life will start 3:00 p.m., on the 5th of August, with an opening ceremony, followed by a candlelight ceremony at 8:00 p.m. The awarding and closing ceremony will be at 9:00 a.m., on the 6th of August. There will be different awards for the ceremony including the “Highest Fundraiser Award” and the “Highest Youth Team Fundraiser Award”.
Benefits of the relay
Every donation counts. Joining the relay is for a good cause. Funds raised are going directly to the Cancer Council to help people in Redcliffe who are battling cancer.
The Cancer Council is a non-government organisation dedicated to defeat all types of cancer, common or rare. This relay enables the council to continue their “three pillars” of work: research to improve treatment; prevention to reduce cancer risks; and support to people affected by cancer: patient, survivor, and carer.
The relay is a community-wide event where people gather together with a common goal. It’s a great time to have a QT with family and friends, have a team building with colleagues by forming corporate teams, and meet new people. It’s the a perfect time to socialise.
Also, the relay emphasizes the importance of exercise. Our body needs physical activities, such as running, walking, and other forms of exercise. Studies suggest that being physically active lowers the risk of getting cancer, so the relay is a great way to drive this point home to participants.
(Photo credit: www.relayforlife.org.au)
Finally, it is the time to show support to the cancer patients and survivors, and their carers. Part of the Relay for Life is the Survivors and Carers Lap, where cancer survivors, patients, and carers proudly wearing coloured sashes are honoured and supported.
“Carers” — Who are they?
(Photo credit: fundraising.cancer.org.au)
“Carers” are the people walking with the cancer patient, in the relay and in real life. They are also the people who have lost a loved one due to cancer. Research shows that carers are going through the same pain as the cancer patients. Relay for Life also shows support to the cancer patients’ friends and family that are continuously giving a part of their life to them.
Fight Cancer, Be Aware
(Photo credit: www.relayforlife.org.au)
Dr. Gordy Klatt, an American colorectal surgeon, wanted to raise enough money to fund his local cancer charity and came up with the interesting idea that one person can make a difference in raising awareness for cancer.
To prove this, he ran for 24 hours on a track in Tacoma, Washington in May 1985. A year after his successful “solo” run raising $27,000, people decided to participate, giving birth to today’s Relay for Life, the largest fundraising event throughout US and in over 20 other countries.
(Photo credit: www.relayforlife.org.au)
Australia’s first Relay for Life in Murrumbeena, Victoria in 1999 raised $75,000. Since then, the relay has expanded throughout Australia, including Redcliffe where over a hundred thousand participants join every year.
Cancer survivors, patients, carers, volunteers, and everyone in Redcliffe, are invited to attend and run at this year’s event. Further details are yet to be announced. Check their event page for details and do not miss their “Early Bird” promotion.
