Prince George’s 24th annual Relay for Life was a huge success.
“We had a fantastic event this year,” says Relay Coordinator Aimee Cassie. “We had a ton of participants and survivors and spectators join us at the track and at the event we were thrilled to announce a total of $505,000. Since then we’ve continued to have donations roll in and we’re currently sitting at $540,000 raised to date.”
This year’s total hasn’t quite reached 2014’s record-setting $600,000 but Cassie says there’s still time.
“We accept donations for relay for life right up until the end of August so we still have another two months to go. We see events go on throughout the summer – we’ve had a fishing derby so far and we see other events go on so teams remain pretty active throughout the summer.”
She says the money makes a big difference in the lives of those living with cancer and their families, as well as survivors of the disease.
“The importance of the event for the Canadian Cancer society is huge. It’s our signature fundraiser. Funds go to support research, support services, lodges like Kordyban Lodge here in Prince George and Prince George really rallies behind Relay in a way like no other city in Canada can.”
Cassie says Prince George could end up being the top-earning Relay in the country for the third year in a row.
Research is the Canadian Cancer Society’s primary focus as they try to find a cure for the disease. According to its 2015 statistics, two in five Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer in the lifetimes and nearly 25% will die from it. But there is good news – survival rates for all cancers have increased from 28% to 63% in the past 65 years.
Cassie says the success of the Relay for Life comes down to the dedication of its volunteers.
“People don’t realize this whole event is done by volunteers. Everyone that you see at the track that’s doing different jobs, all the planning that goes in really starts a year before the event – all done by volunteers. It really is an incredible undertaking that they do and we couldn’t do this without them.”
If you missed the Relay and would still like to make a donation or if you’re looking for information about next year’s 25th anniversary relay, you can visit the event website.
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