The weather might have been dreary, but that didn’t stop several people from supporting the fight against cancer with the Greene County Relay for Life main event on Saturday.
Event Team Leadership Chair Tori Riley says they are close to their $34,000 fundraising goal for Saturday’s event. The silent auction has already hit a new record high with $7,780 raised with more still to be counted. Fifteen teams have registered and have raised $13,025 so far, with a new team, Team Landon Martin, leading the pack at $2,934. As for sponsorships, 28 businesses and organizations have provided $9,150 in cash while another 12 have given $7,250 of in-kind sponsorships of products or services, which doesn’t count towards the overall total.
Saturday’s festivities started with the survivor walk, where the 25 survivors and caregivers walked through the gym of the Greene County Community Center to the applause of the other attendees. Then came the 5K run/walk, followed by the entertainment with the Prairie Blue Creative Art Dancers, along with games for kids, sponsor recognitions and the Team Spirit Award, which went to American Athletic Incorporated/Spaulding. It then ended with the luminaria ceremony. Plus Raccoon Valley Radio’s Big Red Radio was broadcasting live during the event.
When American Cancer Society Senior Community Manager Tina Coleman travels to the different communities in her region, she said she liked seeing the different aspects that smaller communities, like Greene County, brought to the table compared to the bigger communities.
“Just watching the people have the passion for cancer and trying to find a cure and to show up and to support something like this, it means a lot. And the smaller communities actually come together a lot more than the bigger communities. I’m fortunate to work with a lot of the smaller communities and Greene County is really special, just watching the survivor lap and watching all of that take place is just the people really care about each other in Greene County.”
Riley says unlike in past years, the fundraising effort will not end in August.
“We will not be closing the books on this year’s relay until December 31. So you’ve still many, many months to participate. We’re shooting for $42,000 this year. We did make our $40,000 goal last year, but not until into December. So if you can’t do it now make your plans. Maybe you want a fall time fundraiser that would go for Relay for Life.”
Riley adds that all donations can be made to Peoples Bank in Jefferson. All proceeds and donations will be given to the American Cancer Society. To see pictures of the event, click the link below.