Coastal South Baldwin Relay for Life set for Saturday, Sept. 14 in Loxley

By John Underwood
Posted 9/6/19

LOXLEY — It’s not too late to sign up for the Coastal South Baldwin Relay for Life, set for Saturday, Sept. 14 at Loxley Municipal Park.

Organizers are looking to have 24 teams to raise …

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Coastal South Baldwin Relay for Life set for Saturday, Sept. 14 in Loxley

Posted

LOXLEY — It’s not too late to sign up for the Coastal South Baldwin Relay for Life, set for Saturday, Sept. 14 at Loxley Municipal Park.

Organizers are looking to have 24 teams to raise $90,000 at this year’s relay. For the second straight year, this is the only Relay for Life planned for Baldwin County. Last year’s event was held in Foley.

“The Game of Relay for Life” is the theme for this year’s event. According to relayforlife.org/coastalsouthbaldwinal, as of Tuesday, Sept. 3, with 11 days left to sign up, 17 teams had signed up with a total of $32,285.91, more than a third of the goal.

“It’s not too late to sign up your team and it’s not too late to join an existing team,” said Sarah English, local Relay for Life representative for the American Cancer Society. “The great thing about Relay for Life is that teams can raise money throughout the year. If they want to have a cookout or sell T-shirts, or have a bake sale, they can. As long as they have their money turned in by Dec. 31 it will count toward our goal. Relay for Life is a chance for us to come together to celebrate the fight against cancer and honoring those who have fought and continue to fight against the disease.”

You can start your fundraising team or join an existing team by signing up at relayforlife.org/coastalsouthbaldwinal. Teams are asked to make a $100 minimum donation to the American Cancer Society. There will also be signup opportunities and donation opportunities at the event.

The annual survivor dinner, which is open to all survivors, along with one caregiver per survivor, will be held Thursday, Sept. 12 beginning at 6 p.m. at the Loxley Civic Center.

Saturday’s festivities will begin at 4 p.m. with an opening ceremony, which will include keynote speakers who have survived cancer or a caregiver of someone who was affected by cancer, followed by a Survivor/Caregiver Walk with all survivors and caregivers taking the first lap around the venue before being joined by other participants.

There will also be speakers throughout the event who will give updates on the fight against cancer.

The event will also include food trucks, a carnival-type area with bounce houses, face painting and other activities, and live entertainment. There will also be a pie eating contest and a frozen T-shirt contest, English said.

“Teams will raise money and those who raise the most money will be given a T-shirt that has been frozen solid,” she said. “They will have to break through the T-shirt in order to be able to put it on and the one who does so the fastest will win a prize.”

Sponsors for this year’s event include Columbia Southern University, Riviera Utilities, D.R. Horton, Young’s Suncoast Realty & Vacation Rentals, OnSight Entertainment, Eastern shore Inflatables, in memory of Honey Scarcliff, the Town of Loxley and Baumhower’s Victory Grill.

A Luminaria Ceremony will be held beginning about 7:30 p.m., which will conclude the event at approximately 8 p.m.

Luminarias are also available for purchase for the event. People who have been touched by cancer and loved ones lost to the disease are remembered during the Luminaria Ceremony. Candles are lit inside bags filled with sand, each one bearing the name of a person touched by cancer and participants often walk a lap in silence.

“Each light represents a life — a life taken by cancer, a survivor of cancer, or a support for a person still fighting the disease,” according to acsevents.org. “It’s a powerful demonstration that gives people the opportunity to grieve but also offers comfort and hope.”

Relay for Life has become a major fundraising event for the American Cancer Society since it began in Tacoma, Wash., in the mid-1980s.

For more information contact Jessica Devine at 251-947-7378 or email leedrugstore@gmail.com. You can also contact Englisha, 251-344-9858 or email sarah.english@cancer.org.