CARIBOU, Maine — Local members of the American Cancer Society and Cary Medical Center held a Relay for Life kick-off event in the hospital’s Chan Center on Jan. 25 to spread the word about the summer event and inspire volunteers to get involved.
Participants in the relay form teams dedicated to raising money to fight cancer, and often sell food and crafts to raise funds before and during the event itself.
Caribou is one of over 5,200 communities throughout 27 countries that holds a Relay for Life, and this year they plan on making a few changes. Project leader Cuppy Johndro said the relay will be held June 16 as an all-day event, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the Caribou High School track.
Johndro, who has been a part of Relay for Life for seven years, hopes the time change will encourage more volunteers to participate.
“We’ve changed Relay from an overnight to an all-day event,” she said. “It was a burden for a lot of teams to stay out. A lot of cancer survivors are still fighting and it’s just too hard for them to stay out all night.”
In addition to the time change, Johndro said she’s trying to bring in more community members and provide more entertainment this year.
“We want to bring in dance troupes, have a karate demonstration and some live music,” she said.
Both Johndro and American Cancer Society Community Manager Stacey Duran said they would like to see more youth involved, as they brings energy to the annual fundraiser.
“We’re looking for high school teams, bands and dance troupes,” Duran said. “Youth bring a certain energy and we’d love to have more youth teams. We’re also looking for more people to help throughout process of planning the event.”
Duran has been personally involved in Relay for LIfe since 2012, and has been working for the American Cancer Society for about seven months.
Losing her father to cancer at a young age inspired her to get involved with the relay, she said. She supports the event leadership team in addition to any teams that need her assistance, and reaches out for additional community involvement.
“Tonight is about information,” she said. “What does Relay look like and what does it entail, and what’s new? The big difference is the time change.”
Laurie Boucher of the UMPI Owls team said she has been involved with Relay for nearly 20 years, and has been captain of the UMPI team for over 10.
“I do Relay because of my mother,” she said, “who passed away eight years ago, just 10 days before the 2004 relay. She was ready to go to the track.”
She said this connection makes relay a special event, and that she’s lost many family members to cancer.
“When I first started,” she said, “the statistic was that one in 10 people have, or know someone who has, cancer. Now, it’s one in three.”
Being around others who are either struggling with the disease or who have lost a family member or loved one is an important part of Relay for Boucher.
“It was very healing to be around people who understood what I was going through,” she said. “I tear up every time, because Relay was very close to my mother’s heart, and I’m trying to make her proud by doing all the fundraising I can for my team.”
Over the years, the UMPI Owls have raised about $80,000 for the cause, and have set a $100,000 goal in this 10th-anniversary year.
The team starts fundraising in July, just a month after the annual event, by holding a large garage sale in Presque Isle, selling food and raffle tickets at UMPI basketball games, and participating in the annual chocolate festival (which will be held at Caribou Middle School this year instead of Teague Park).
McCain Searching for a Cure is another team with a track record of raising thousands of dollars a year, and has been the highest fundraising team in the state for the past three years.
Team member John Bishop said his team typically raises between $15,000 and $18,000 a year, and says the key to being successful is to simply “be honest with your sponsors” by explaining what the relay is about.
“We have fundraisers throughout the year and also have some very generous donors,” Bishop said. “Local businesses support us in any way they can, and we recognize those businesses at our relays. If they donate $250 or more, we put their name on our T-shirts and website. A lot of businesses donate whatever they can, and we list them on our posters at Relay.”
Bishop, in his seventh year with Relay, said he was motivated to get involved after losing his father and both of his godparents to cancer.
“It’s hit our family quite bad,” he said. “It’s very personal, so if we can get out there and help others battling cancer, we’re more than happy to do that.”
For those who are on the fence about joining the Relay for Life, Bishop said it’s important to do some research.
“90 percent of the money goes back to fighting cancer,” he said. “You don’t see that kind of return with a lot of charities. The thing I like about the American Cancer Society is that we’re not fighting one particular type of cancer; we’re fighting all types of cancer.”
Bishop said a common complaint he’s heard about the American Cancer Society is that the money raised doesn’t stay in Aroostook County, and instead goes to research.
“If they’re out there doing research, and that research finds a cure, then it will help people in The County,” he said. “That’s the way I look at it. The more I can do to help people dealing with this, the better it is for everybody.”
Boucher said that getting involved with Relay is “the best decision you’ll ever make.”
“When you come out,” she said, “you’ll see the person you saw at Wal-Mart. You don’t realize how many people have cancer or how many family members affected by it, and that you all share the same thoughts, ideas and emotions. It’s something that touches everybody.”
Duran said relay is a “very special event,” and that the luminaria ceremony really sets it apart from similar fundraisers.
“We light the track in memory, or in honor, of someone fighting that battle,” she said. “Everyone is touched by cancer in some way, and it’s a special part of our relay event.”
Johndro said every dollar donated counts, and that volunteers can help as much or as little as they are able.
“We need some more members in our executive leadership team and are hoping to bring more people on board this year,” Johndro said. “There’s not a lot to it, you can help out with what you want to do. We don’t want to overtax anyone.”
For more information or to volunteer, call Johndro at 551-3439.
