Relay Organizers Counting On Post-Event Donors To Hit $350k Goal

By John Voket

As this issue of The Bee went to press, the organizers and many dedicated volunteers representing the 2006 Relay For Life were inching toward their $350,000 goal, with slightly less than $325,000 gathered in the event coffers. Despite an unseasonably cold wind that whipped through Blue and Gold Stadium last Saturday night, the mood among the hundreds of teams and supporters who came out to this year’s American Cancer Society signature event remained warm in spirit.

Most traversed the track with a spring in their step knowing their goal would help sustain research and outreach programs that will support many who are and will be touched in the coming year by this insidious disease. Event co-chair Helen Benson asked in a post-event memo: “Was it all worth it??”

“The answer to this question lies in the eyes of the newly diagnosed patient who met someone at Relay who has faced their disease and triumphed, or the caregiver who finally got to meet someone who had traveled down the same path of compassion, love, joy and sorrow, and made it through okay,” she continued.

Co-chair Guy Russo, who shared leadership duties with his wife, Lynda, said at times he became so focused on the fundraising aspect throughout the year that it took the celebration and solemnity of Relay day to remind him that it is so much more.

“It’s not just an event like the Labor Day Parade or a typical fundraiser,” Mr Russo said. “It’s kind of like the Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup ad where you put two great things together. To anyone that has lost a loved one to cancer or who is faced with the disease themselves the energy you get from our community participants is healing and inspiring. It makes Lynda and me proud that Newtown is where we chose to raise our children.”

It was easy for virtually everyone, including volunteers who showed up hours before the 7 pm kickoff, to get inspired as they watched Gordon Lang, a communicant of the local Trinity Church, in the early stages of a 100-mile trek around the track.

“I have done a couple of relays as part of a team and had a lot of fun and always wondered if I could do the whole thing myself ... and that is what I decided to do as a way to create a compelling reason for people to donate money to a very worthy cause,” he said before the event. In order to cover the 100 miles, the local organizing folks gave Mr Lang permission to set up and begin on Saturday morning at 7 am.

And his efforts were rewarded with well over $11,000 in donations raised by this single marathon effort.

Many other donations were raised during the 12-hours of the relay with many teams setting up one-on-one fundraising programs from hair coloring to selling pizza slices, cold drinks, and baked “energy-boosters.” In-between the handful of solemn activities including the survivors lap and touching luminary segments, a wide variety of talented volunteers, local students, and even a few professionals kept the entertainment rolling.

While Ms Benson asked that everyone save the date of June 9 and 10, 2007, to plan for next year’s relay, she also reminded anyone who could not make the event but who wanted to add an exclamation point of punctuation to this year’s relay to do so as soon as possible.

“We know some of you [couldn’t attend] or had to leave early,” she wrote, “…so please forward any final fundraising proceeds or donations to: Relay For Life of Newtown, PO Box 831, Newtown, CT 06470. In addition, the website is still active for on line credit card donations — www.acsevents.org/relay/ctnewtown.”