Fighters, survivors, and those remembering the people who lost their battle with cancer are asked to dedicate a luminaria in honor or in memory of a loved one affected by the disease. This year’s Relay For Life event will be a virtual luminary ceremony hosted online at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 6.
Johna Beech, Event Chair for the Relay For Life, says the event is happening despite challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic: “This is my 12th relay and this is the first time I’ve ever experienced a relay during a pandemic, and I’m pretty certain that nobody has experienced a relay during a pandemic. Because of the social distancing and large gathering stuff, the Relay For Life committee and I decided we still want to have Relay For Life, but we’re going to do it virtually this year. It’s going to look a little bit different, but the end-result is still the same: we want to raise money for programs that fund and research the eradication of cancer. That’s the end-result, and that’s we want to have happen.”
She said there are three key components to the event: “The three key components of Relay For Life are: Celebrate: we want to celebrate those who are still with us. Remember: want to remember those who we’ve lost. Fight: we want to fight back against cancer by raising money for programs and research. The luminaria ceremony is part of that remembrance, and don’t worry: we will still have luminaria this year.”
Tomorrow at 3:00 p.m., you can log on to their Facebook Page to experience the ceremony.
Ms. Beech says that we, as a community, cannot lose sight of cancer just because of other crises in the world: “The one thing I want people to remember is throughout all of the chaos of the last few months of our lives, cancer is not stopping. We still have people that are dying from cancer; I just lost my mom on March 2 to cancer. So, if you have $5 to donate: wonderful. If you have $100 to donate: wonderful. Any and all money – we’ll take it. We are fundraising through the end of the year, this year.”
Anyone interested in participating is asked to donate $5 per luminaria or 3 for $10 by visiting this link.
After donating, please text the names of those in honor and in memory to (854)-800-7304. The deadline is 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, to ensure the names are read during the ceremony.
Relay For Life is the signature fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Each year local volunteers with the American Cancer Society, Relay for Life of the Kenai Peninsula put on events in the community to raise funds towards cancer research.
