Locals travel to Toronto to learn how to plan a Relay for Life

Submitted by
Melissa Jenson

On November 12, 2009 Andrew Hartnell and Melissa Jenson, both of Rainy River, travelled to Toronto Ontario to attend the Relay for Life summit organized by the Canadian Cancer Society.
The Relay for Life is a fundraising event that gives people the opportunity to get together with friends and family to celebrate cancer survivors, remember loved ones lost to cancer, and fight back in the hope of finding a cure for this terrible disease. It is a twelve hour walk that begins at 7 p.m. on the June 11, 2010 and ends at 7 a.m. on June 12, 2010 and will be held at the Riverview School track. The relay consists of teams of ten or more people, who will take turns walking the track and enjoying the entertainment throughout the night.
During our four day stay in Toronto, we were able to learn about the process of planning the event and learn from other events across Ontario. We also learned how important it is to fundraise for the Canadian Cancer Society through the Relay for Life, to help fund their life changing research.
The weekend was packed full of informative workshops and powerful guest speakers that were with the Canadian Cancer Society, researchers trying to find a cure or a cancer survivor sharing their amazing and heart felt journey.
There is a big job ahead to accomplish this event, but with hard work and many volunteers, we believe that our town can do it. We will be starting a committee in the new year to begin the preparation for this huge event.
For more information on registering a team, becoming a volunteer or cancer survivors who would like to walk in the survivor walk, you can contact us or go to www.relayforlife.ca. You can also make a donation to teams or to the event on the same website.
We look forward to planning this event for our town and to raise some money for the Canadian Cancer Society to help them find a cure for cancer.
Also, look for our float in the Santa Claus parade on December 5.