Community Invited To The Relay For Life

Newtown’s fourth annual Relay For Life to benefit programs, research, and services provided by the American Cancer Society steps off at 5 pm Saturday, June 9, and continues until 5 am Sunday, June 10, at Newtown High School. The highly attended and record-breaking community activity is a celebration of cancer survivorship and a fun way to raise the vital funds needed to help find a cure for cancer. 

The relay, as in years past, will celebrate the lives of hundreds of local residents who have survived cancer, while offering the hope of finding a cure. Some 1,000 walkers are hoping to raise $375,000 to benefit the American Cancer Society’s programs of cancer research, education, advocacy, and patient services.

The public is invited to join this year’s honorary chair Abbi Winters and event co-chairs Helen Benson and Kathryn Wolf to help kick off the celebration. Visitors need not be participating on a team or as volunteers to come to the event.

The Relay For Life begins with an inspiring survivors’ lap during which cancer survivors join together with family members to take a victory lap around the track, according to relay co-chair Dawn Escoda.

“The involvement of local cancer survivors is proof of the progress that has been made in improving cancer survival rates and the quality of life following cancer treatment, Ms Escoda said.

A candlelight ceremony is also held after dark to honor cancer survivors and remember those who lost the fight against this disease. The candle lighting will begin at 9:30 pm and luminaria bags for the ceremony that will illuminate the Blue and Gold Stadium and track may be purchased at the event. 

The Relay For Life event in Newtown is an all-night community event bringing together teams of families, friends, churches, neighborhoods, and businesses — all with the same goal of curing cancer, Ms Escoda said. Teams of walkers keep a continuous presence on the track throughout the night, walking in shifts to raise funds for the American Cancer Society.

A full agenda of entertainment is planned, including music, team fundraising activities, fun theme laps, and contests going all night long. Contests include bubble gum blowing, frozen T-shirt, Miss Relay, and a scavenger hunt.

Teams can set up their tent sites from noon until 3 pm Saturday. General registration will take place from 3 to 7 pm.

This year, a special Kids for a Cure mini relay will take place from 3 to 5 pm. Survivor registration is from 4 to 5 pm, with a catered survivor dinner following the opening ceremony at 6:30 pm. The survivor dinner, “Escape to Tuscany” has been generously donated by Newtown Deli & Catering.

This year only, on Saturday between the hours of 4 and 8 pm, the Newtown Relay will host and offer the rare opportunity to participate first-hand in a landmark new study, the Cancer Prevention Study-3 (CPS-3). Mary Marinaccio, the CPS-3 chair, said Newtown’s site will be one of two in Connecticut contributing volunteers to the study, which will enroll half a million people across the nation and will help researchers better understand the lifestyle, environmental, and genetic factors that cause or prevent cancer.

“Participants must be between the ages of 30 and 65, must never have been diagnosed with cancer, and must be willing to make a long-term commitment to the study,” Ms Marinaccio said. “They will be asked to complete a brief written survey, provide a waist measurement, and give a small blood sample at the enrollment site.”

After that, follow-up surveys will be sent to participants’ homes on a regular basis over the next few decades to update health behavior information. Researchers will use the data from CPS-3 to build on evidence from a series of American Cancer Society studies that began in the 1950s and involved hundreds of thousands of volunteer participants.

“While science can do a lot to explain the biology and genetics of cancer, some of the most valuable information is a result of the contributions of dedicated individuals over several generations,” she said. “The society is once again looking to the dedication, compassion, and generosity of Americans to come through and help provide answers that will save lives for years to come.”

Find out more about CPS-3 by visiting www.cancer.org/cps3 and participate in research today for a cancer-free tomorrow. For additional information on the local Relay, visit acsevents.org/relay/ctnewtown.