Relay for Life begins April 27
Some say the range of emotions felt during Relay for Life mirrors the very same ups and downs experienced by people fighting cancer.
“We have lots of entertainment to take your mind off all the walking, as a cancer patient will do things to take their mind off the aches, pains and changes their bodies are going through,” said John Courtis, a local relay organizer. “Then as you walk through the night in relay fashion with your teammates, fatigue sets in and you don't think you can make it. Then, you see the first light of a new day and hope sets in along with the emotion that ‘I've made it through,' some what like a cancer patient says after enduring another round of chemo.”
This year's Relay for Life event is set for April 27-28 in Yuma and organizers invite people to get involved and experience all those fulfilling emotions.
“The event itself is an overnight experience you will never forget,” Courtis said.
Registration began recently and continues right up to the event. To register, go to www.RelayForLife.org/yumaaz. That site also accepts donations. More information about the event can also be found at Facebook.com/YumaAzrfl.
“We celebrate survivors, remember lost loves ones and fight back by raising funds to find a cure for cancer,” Courtis said. “For one night, we are one race, bound together for one cause. We are not liberals or conservatives, Catholics or Mormons, Hispanics or whites. We are simply one people trying to raise funds to finance research to find cure for cancer.”
The location for this year's event will be Desert Sun Stadium, 1280 Desert Sun Drive.
Last year's relay boasted 133 teams. Organizers say they hope to register 150 teams this year.
Yuma's event earned the honor of being hailed as a “Mega-Event” in 2010. Yuma is the first town in Arizona to achieve this honor.
“A Mega-Event is one that raises over $200,000,” Courtis explained. “Obviously, that means that we are and have been, for the last three years, Arizona's biggest Relay for Life event. Every restaurant that does ‘take-overs' and returns a portion of the proceeds, every business that allows internal fundraising like our Jeans on Friday, 50/50 raffles and more deserve a lot of credit.”
To contact Relay for Life organizers in Yuma, call 920-5028 or send email to YumaRelay@gmail.com.
