A
tribute ... an inspiration
Story
& Photos
By
Karen Clem Fritz
NOBODY
DOES IT BETTER.
In spite of a light shower of raindrops during Pulaski
County’s fifth annual Relay for Life June 14-15, the event
set a new record total of $73,000 - and counting - in funds raised
for American Cancer Society programs.
The local Relay continues to grow in exponential terms - amazing neighboring
counties and the state. At last year’s event, $64,000 was raised.
In 1998, the first year Pulaski County held its own Relay (instead
of participating with neighboring counties) $17,000 was collected.
It’s impossible to keep an accurate count, but
well over 1,000 community members attended the event in the Winamac
park. Pulaski County continues to stand near the top, as recognized
by the ACS (American Cancer Society), for the most money generated
per capita in the nation.
But the local Relay is hardly about money. It’s about community.
Undoubtedly that’s what makes it so successful.
Residents bond together at the local Relay for Life to remember
loved ones lost to cancer. They also gather to celebrate the victories
of cancer survivors, and to fight this disease that affects everyone,
either personally or through family and friends.
As
always, the support and hard work of hundreds of community members
who worked weeks and months before - and then during the relay - was
astounding. The Relay itself is the American Cancer Society’s
signature fund raising event and consists of a 12- or 24-hour period
in which several teams of at least eight members per team collect
donations to sponsor their all-night walk. The ACS reports there are
3,000 Relays held across the nation.
Pulaski County’s Relay ran for 12 hours beginning
at 6 p.m. on Friday evening. Earlier in the afternoon participants
were setting up campsites and fund raising booths, anticipating a
night of community fun and fellowship. By the time of the opening
ceremony, the park was crowded with people of all ages already completing
laps on the park’s walking trail.
At nightfall came the lighting of 811 luminaries, sold
prior to the Relay for $5 each. Each hand-decorated luminary paper
bag was dedicated to a survivor of cancer or to a loved one who has
passed away from the disease.
The bags were placed along the walking trail. As they
strolled along the trail, participants read the messages on the paper
sacks. It is impossible not to be emotionally moved by how many friends
and neighbors have struggled with this dreaded disease.
Co-chairpersons
of the local Relay are Chris Smith, a cancer survivor, and Joan Lauder
who heads the oncology department at Pulaski Memorial Hospital.
The increasing success of each local Relay has inspired
many community businesses and organizations to become involved and
find new ways to raise money and support the cause throughout the
year.
The Pulaski County Relay is also proving to be an inspiration
- and a challenge - to neighboring counties who have sent representatives
to the Winamac event to discover the secret of its success.
“Outsiders are truly amazed at the number of people
who participate in Pulaski County’s Relay,” reports Rachel
Back, an ACS community development director. “Last year Pulaski
County averaged $4.29 per capita in donations. The district average
is 91 cents.
It’s hardly surprising that Pulaski
County should excel in an event such as Relay For Life - not in a
community where caring about each other is the hallmark of our life.
Next year’s walk will be bigger and better yet, in keeping with
the motto “there is no finish line until we find a cure!”
