Relay for Life Montgomery County to hold ‘Give Cancer the Boot’ fundraiser Friday

6 2 montgomery fund raiserPictured (on Left) Pat Worrell – Relay for Life Montgomery County Event Leader and (on Right) Donna Christian Previous Event Leader. 

Give Cancer the Boot

The community is welcome to join Relay for Life Montgomery County’s “Give Cancer the Boot” event which will be held on Friday, June 9, 2023 from 6pm to 11pm at Christiansburg Middle School.  During the event, those who have lost their battle to cancer will be honored and cancer survivors and caregivers will be celebrated. In addition to the honoring ceremonies, some of the event activities will include a silent auction, live music, specialty vendors, children’s activities, food trucks, line dancing and Zumba. Donations raised at the event will be used to provide patient support, funding for research, access to lifesaving screenings, and much more. Personalized luminaria bags and lanterns to honor loved ones can be purchased through a local Relay team or can be purchased and displayed the night of the event.

The opening ceremonies will include a survivor recognition. The survivors will be asked to ring a bell which signifies an important milestone and celebratory moment in their cancer journey, the end of cancer treatments.  The bell is a symbol of hope, the survivors are ringing it for themselves, their supporters, and everyone else who is fighting or will fight the battle against cancer.  When the survivors ring the bell, feelings of love, strength, hope, courage, and joy can be seen in their eyes and felt in the hearts of all watching.

This year has been extremely challenging for the organizers of the event.  On March 20, 2023, Donna Christian, our Event Leader passed away unexpectedly.  Donna’s creativity, work ethic, desire to increase awareness and her unstoppable passion were attributes that contributed to the overall success of Relay over the years.  Donna was the matriarch of the Relay family and was loved, adored, and respected by all who had the opportunity to work under her leadership.  No matter what personal life events Donna faced, her passion and perseverance for Relay never waivered.  Donna’s motivating mission statement was, “cancer does not stop and neither will we.”

After Donna’s passing, the future of the 2023 Relay event was uncertain.  With the event date only months away and lots of work remaining to plan an event of this magnitude, who would or could step in to oversee fundraising, recruiting sponsors and to finish planning and coordinating the Relay event?  After considerable thought and prayer, Pat Worrell, former Event Leader, and good friend to Donna, graciously agreed to accept the leadership role.  With the help of her Event Leadership Team (ELT), Pat started the planning process to make Donna’s vision for the 2023 Relay event a reality.  “Everyone has pulled together to make this event extra special to honor Donna. There will be lots of food, fun, and entertainment, and most importantly, ceremonies to honor those touched by cancer. Come join us at the event and find out why we are so passionate about Relay”, stated Linda Howell, Team Captain.

We encourage everyone to please join our efforts to support American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life and help us to “Give Cancer the Boot”.

For more information, call the local ACS representative at 276-608-1859, visit our Relay For Life Montgomery County Facebook site or visit www.relayforlife.org/montgomeryva

 

Submitted by Linda Howell