Counting down to Coastal South Baldwin’s Relay For Life

By Jessica Vaughn / jessica@gulfcoastmedia.com
Posted 8/14/17

FOLEY – The American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life in Foley is coming up, and everyone can join to help make a difference in the lives of those who are fighting against cancer, know someone who …

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Counting down to Coastal South Baldwin’s Relay For Life

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FOLEY – The American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life in Foley is coming up, and everyone can join to help make a difference in the lives of those who are fighting against cancer, know someone who is, or the medical facilities who are researching new ways to help put an end to the suffering forever.

This year, Relay For Life will be bigger and better than ever, as the South Baldwin Relay and the Gulf Coast Relay are coming together as the Relay For Life of Coastal South Baldwin.

“We’re trying to bring the communities together,” said Kathy O’Neill with the American Cancer Society (ACS).

According to ACS: “The American Cancer Society Relay For Life movement is the world’s largest fundraising event to fight every cancer in every community.” The events are held to raise awareness in the community, to acquire crucial funds that are used to support people living in the community, and prevention research. The ACS aims to make an impact in the lives of those who are currently battling cancer, those who may face a diagnosis in the future, and those who may avoid a diagnosis altogether thanks to education, prevention, and early detection.

So far, ACS has funded 47 Nobel prize winning researchers, and the Mobile facility offers many benefits to those suffering from cancer, such as Look Good Feel Better classes, a wig room with free wigs, and help with both hotel stays for out of town patients and transportation to and from treatment. As of March 2017, the ACS is currently funding cancer research grants totaling $7,032,500, and they have worked with more than 300 health care systems to help more people prevent cancer or find it early, provide patient and provider education, and improve care.

THE EVENT

For 2017, the event will take place at Heritage Park in Foley, on Saturday, September 16, from 2-8pm, with a luminaria at 7:15pm. The Coastal South Baldwin team will be decorating the park a week prior to the event, so be sure to look for the purple ribbons that will be tied around the lamp posts throughout the park as a reminder of the event.

During a Relay For Life Event, teams and individuals camp out at a school, park, or fairground and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Teams also participate in fundraising opportunities the months leading up to the event, and raise money and awareness to help the ACS save lives.

A huge part of the event is the luminaria, which touches the lives of many people.

“Luminaria is the toughest part of it,” said David Brackin, who is serving his 5th year as the event chair for Relay For Life, along with his co-chair Kathy McCool. “Every bag, every light that is out there, is somebody that somebody loves, and it’s hard. But as long as we keep lighting those lights, people keep thinking about them, and we keep up the fight.”

Luminaria bags are available for purchase from the teams who will be participating in the Relay For Life, through the ACS’s website, and also from Riviera Utilities in Foley.

SURVIVOR’S DINNER

Survivors from all over are encouraged to come to the Survivor’s Dinner held in their honor. Traditionally in the past, the Survivor’s Dinner has been held on the same day as the event, but this year will be different as the Survivor’s Dinner will be held on September 7th from 6-8pm at Genesis Church, located at 3100 S McKenzie Street in Foley.

The reason for the change is in the hopes that with the event and the dinner being held on different nights, the survivors will be able to enjoy every event instead of having to pick and choose.

“The concern was during the day of the event there’s so much going on, and everyone wants to be participating in that with their teams,” said Jill Beard, Community Development Manager South Region for the American Cancer Society. “But then when the dinner started, they were either missing out on the event or they were missing out on the dinner, so that was a lot of the reason behind moving the dinner. Now this way they can come to the event and enjoy all of that and participate with their team.”

RSVPs to the Survivor’s Dinner are requested, and can be made to Vicki Barnes at 800-977-8449 ext. 1108 or email Vicki.Barnes@columbiasouthern.edu. For any questions you can call 251-344-9858, or go to the American Cancer Society’s website at Cancer.org to RSVP online.

SPONSORSHIP/DONATIONS/VOLUNTEERING

Donations and fundraisers are a huge benefit to the ACS in helping them realize their goals in cancer research, prevention, and treatment.

“Because it’s community based, people can put something in if they chose,” Brackin said. “So the money comes in, and the fact that we have a survivor lap is a testament that it works, that the change was made. The fact that a lot of people 10 years ago, that the prognosis was slim to none, are out there walking around.”

Funds that go to the ACS are used in a multitude of ways. Some of the money goes to research to help studies in medicine, prevention, and treatment, while some money comes back into the community to support local programs and services for patients. Along with larger, well-known facilities, the ACS also supports and promotes research with out-of-the-box thinking to bring new ideas and finds in the medical field.

“We still have a long way to go, but there has been tons of positive progress because of the funding that we’ve had with research, with the different drugs, the chemo drugs, where you don’t see everybody losing their hair, and the side effects aren’t as strong as others,” O’Neill said. “No, we haven’t cured cancer, but we’re making progress. There are more people who are living as survivors than there once were, it’s not just finality.”

One of the most important things to the ACS is volunteers. As with any nonprofit organization, volunteers help make each event possible, and the more volunteers join the cause, the more an organization can accomplish.

“Our work cannot be done without volunteers,” O’Neill said. “If there’s any interest in volunteer opportunities to serve on the committee, please come and join. You can get a lot more done the more people you have.”

If you are interested in participating in the Relay For Life event, then you can register to start your fundraising team or join an existing team on their website at http://relay.acsevents.org, or you can like them on Facebook @RelayForLifeOfCoastalSouthBaldwin.

If you would like to learn more about the American Cancer Society, donate, or volunteer, visit their website at Cancer.org, like their Facebook page @AmericanCancerSociety, or give them a call at the local office, 251-344-9858, or 1-800-227-2345 after hours to speak with a representative.

And don’t forget to come the day of the event to participate in Relay For Life at Heritage Park in Foley, Saturday, September 16, 2-8pm.