Relay for Life is on track June 20 for a big year at a new location
Life is more expensive than it was a year ago. Gas costs more. Groceries cost more. Everything costs more. So budgets are tight.By: Emily Zimmer, Rosemount Town Pages
Life is more expensive than it was a year ago. Gas costs more. Groceries cost more. Everything costs more. So budgets are tight.
That’s why it’s pretty incredible the Rosemount Relay for Life is right on track to raise as much money as it did last year. With three weeks left until the actual relay, numbers are looking good which means more cash that will help find a cure for cancer.
Although fewer teams have signed up for the relay, chair Nancy Kelly said more people have signed up to walk and are pulling in large sums of money for the event. So far 332 people on 37 teams will walk through the night June 20.
The Relay for Life raises money for the American Cancer Society. The ACS uses the money to fund research to develop better treatments for cancer and someday possibly to find a cure. In addition participants celebrate survivors and honor those who have been lost to the disease.
Teams consist of eight to 15 members. Each team member pays $10 to participate which gets them a t-shirt. In addition each team member is asked to raise at least $100. On June 20, team members will take turns walking from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
This year’s Rosemount relay will differ from past years. Instead of walking the track at the high school, the event will be held at Central Park near Rosemount City Hall. Organizers moved the event because of construction on Irish Stadium.
During the daylight hours Kelly said walkers will make their way around the Koch Trail, which is nearly a mile long. When night sets in walkers will move to a course volunteers will make in the Central Park parking lot.
“I think it will be good to shake things up,” said Kelly of the move to Central Park. “And it’s so pretty down there.”
The park will be set up to accommodate the hundreds of people who flock to the annual event. Volunteers will transform the two Central Park ice rinks into places of refuge for weary walkers. One will hold the silent auction, concession stand and other things for the walkers. In the other teams can set up tents to rest.
The Knights of Columbus will once again run a concession stand at the event. They are famous for selling pork chops on sticks. The St. Joseph’s Church group has done a stand at the event for years. The Catholic philanthropic organization donates the proceeds it makes from the night to the ACS.
Other organizations and businesses in the community have donated time and items to the event. Kelly said donations help keep costs for the event down so more of the money raised goes to cancer research.
“The community has been great,” Kelly said.
A disc jockey will play tunes from the band shelter to keep people pumped up as they walk through the night.
Like in past years luminarias will light the path but this year instead of candles the illumination will come from glow sticks. Each glowing bag has a special meaning to someone. The bags are decorated either by the person who purchased the bag or by a relay volunteer. Some of the bags celebrate survivors while others honor people who lost their lives to cancer.
Although Kelly admitted it was nice having the event at the high school because the volunteers had a routine down, she said the new location offers some new opportunities. She credited the volunteers on the Rosemount Relay for Life committee for embracing the change in venue and working to make it a great event.
“The committee is great, they just do what needs to be done,” Kelly said.
The last meeting before the event will take place June 18 at Central Park. That night team captains can pick up-shirts. The Rosemount Relay for Life will begin at 6:00 p.m. June 20.
For more information or to donate to the Rosemount Relay for Life visit www.main.acsevents.org.
More from around the web
RSS Feeds