This June, the 21st Wilkes Relay for Life will be held in North Wilkesboro and teams have raised already about $48,000, an amount that will be destined to cancer research. This event is an annual relay to support cancer fighters. Funds go to the American Cancer Society each year and are used to promote cancer awareness programs as well as medical research for treatments and possible cures. This event is usually the largest NGO activity in the Wilkes County.
This year, the theme will be “Paint the world purple” and it will start at 6 p.m. It is supposed to finish around midnight but is the team’s dynamics what will determine the time lapse to the entire activity. The Relay for Life foundation organizes events across the world to honor cancer survivors and raise funds to improve cancer awareness program. Relay for Life teams participates in events that can last up to 24 hours.
Relay for Life
This NGO is devoted to fundraising for the American Cancer Society in the United States. In that sense, Relay for Life is now one of the major fundraisers in the country and a signature organization for cancer patients. It works with big events, around 5,200 each year, executed not only by the organization’s staff but is also executed by participants, volunteers and supporters across the country to help save lives from the disease.
With annual events, the NGO raises about $400 million, donations that are controlled by the American Cancer Society and invested in clinical research about all types of cancer. The money is also used to enrich health-care services and information to cancer patients, their families, and their caregivers. The recognition and support offered to cancer survivors is also a major goal of the organization. Cancer awareness and empathy are important in Relay for Life’s events, offering the opportunity to connect cancer survivors and supporters, to make visible a network of aid and support.
How does the Fundraising work?
Relay for Life allows participants be an active part of the fundraising activities, providing ideas and initiatives to create programs and events. The volunteers also determine what mechanisms will be used in each event to promote the activity. The use of the community online is an important step in the fundraising process, since the web page, social media, and other online communities are the perfect places to motivate people connect with the cause and donate to something that matters.
Actually, the American Cancer Society launched an online network called Relay Nation. Volunteers across the world who are interested in working in cancer-related programs can share ideas and find resources in order to design strategies that can be used locally to fundraise for cancer patients.
About the Relay on June 10
The event will be a “Golf Cart Relay Race” in the Wilkesboro Water Treatment Plant Park. It will be a race against time in golf carts full of obstacles. People will be able to participate in two age categories, teens, and adults. The goal is to attract a lot of young people, so the planners of the event made a huge effort to create a fun structure for the entire race. Participants will also have to deal with puzzles and challenges to beat the time of other teams, in order to win the first place prize. Water slides, drawing activities and musical challenges. “The Cruisers,” the winning team of the event last year were the main actor in the planning process of the event.
Source: Relay For Life