Relay For Life Kickoff February 3 Is Open To Everyone

By John Voket

Newtown’s Relay For Life organizers are inviting the community to help officially launch the community’s 2011 celebration, which has a renewed theme of “Even More Birthdays.” The free kickoff party is set for February 3 at 7 pm in the Newtown Middle School cafeteria, according to Relay Co-chair Addie Sandler.

Ms Sandler is hoping many residents will turn out for cake, an opportunity to meet the 2011 Honorary Chairs, and hear about a number of new developments with the event, which will take place June 11–12. During the kickoff, Ms Sandler will also conduct an official “meet and greet” for Newtown’s brand-new American Cancer Society liaison, Debbie Colgan.

The event will also unveil what Ms Sandler described as a “weather-proof contingency” after severe storms forced an evacuation of last year’s event. She said plans are in the final stages to simply relocate the relay walkers to an indoor location where they can pick up where they left off on the track, in the event of another threatening weather incident.

And there will also be news of new relay participant and team recognition programs with the American Cancer Society.

Above all, Ms Sandler stressed that in 2011, she wants to ensure all local residents realize that the Relay For Life is not a race or sporting event, but more of a community rally “where anyone touched by cancer, any family member, survivor or caregiver can come and celebrate life, and support those engaged in the fight.”

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is a life-changing event that gives everyone in communities across the globe a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease.

In 2010, 54 teams with more than 560 members helped raise $226,000

At Relay, teams of people camp out at Fairfield Hills and take turns walking or running around a track. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Because cancer never sleeps, Relays are overnight events up to 24 hours in length.

While Newtown’s event runs overnight, it is a 12-hour activity. Ms Sandler said residents can learn more about the upcoming event, and follow activities and related news at either the local website or the Newtown Relay Facebook page.

Anyone who wants to get involved is welcome to attend any or all of the other scheduled relay meetings if they have to miss the kickoff. Informational meetings continue March 3, April 7, May 5, with a wrap-up meeting June 9, a few days ahead of the main event.

The latest accounting of benefits generated because of New England region relays includes:

*A tenfold increase in the number of newly diagnosed patients helped in New England, growing from one in 50 in 2006 to one in five in 2009.

*Providing more than 2,000 cancer patients with 20,000 rides to and from their lifesaving treatments

*Offering more than 3,600 Look Good...Feel Better sessions to women learning to cope with the appearance-related side effects of their cancer treatment

*Providing more than 26,000 people with patient-related information or programs to ease their cancer journey

*Sending more than 300 youngsters to summer camps for children with cancer including at Connecticut’s Camp Rising Sun, which has hosted a number of children from Newtown

*Supporting the nation’s only 24-hour cancer hotline (800-ACS-2345), where people fighting cancer can turn anytime, day or night, 365 days a year, to talk to a trained cancer information specialist. In FY09, more than 43,000 calls came in from New Englanders.

*Delivering more than 5,700 services to more than 2,500 patients and caregivers with the help of Patient Navigators located at nine New England hospitals.

To keep up to date on all the Newtown-related Relay activities, visit www.relayforlife.org/newtownct. Anyone with specific questions may contact Co-Chair Michelle Babyak at 203-270-6265.