The American Cancer Society’s 2008 SCV Relay For Life has topped the $500,000 mark for the first time, capping a two-day event that broke records in a number of areas. The 24-hour walking event was held May 31 to June 1 at Central Park, but teams continue to turn in late donations, pushing the event past the half-million dollar mark.
The SCV Relay For Life is ranked number one such event in Los Angeles County and number eight in the nation.
This year’s Relay started with a record 109 teams, the first time the event has topped the 100-team mark. According to the team list on the local website at www.scvrelay.org, there were 38 new teams this year, another record.
Dozens of team captains have been attending monthly meetings with Team Captain Coordinator Brandi Newquist since the beginning of the year, gathering tips on building enthusiasm among team members, recruiting walkers and raising the team’s fund-raising efforts “When you attend a meeting led by Brandi Newquist, you cannot help but sign up!” exclaimed event co-chair Candy Spahr. This year’s other co-chairs were Teresa Kerr, who handled the creative aspects of Relay, and John Fortman, in charge of logistics.
Kerr organized the event’s website, which has had more than 17,500 hits this year, compared to 7,500 last year when the site was first created. The website offers a calendar of Relay-related events, schedules of Relay activities, and a way for teams to register online, track their donation totals and receive donations from online supporters.
The local committee is already seeking new members for the 2009 Relay, and encouraging team captains to be among the first to register a team for next year’s event. Volunteers and captains can sign up by sending a message to info@scvrelay.org .
The American Cancer Society (ACS) is the nationwide, community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem. ACS works toward that goal by preventing cancer, saving lives from cancer, and diminishing suffering from cancer by supporting research, education, advocacy and service.
Cancer information is available 24 hours a day at www.cancer.org or by calling 800-ACS-2345. Santa Clarita Valley Relay For Life information is available by calling 661-298-0886, option 3, or contacting staff member Danielle Anziano at Danielle.Anziano@cancer.org . Volunteers interested in joining next year’s Relay committee can respond to info@scvrelay.org . More information is available at www.scvrelay .