Luau rally kicks off Relay for Life effort

During last week's kickoff event, Relay for Life organizers were hoping to sign up more teams for the June observance.

A luau-themed event heralded the official start of a yearly event in Elmore County aimed at raising money for cancer awareness and treatment.

The Elmore County Relay for Life kickoff rally, held Feb. 20 at the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in Glenns Ferry, served as a gathering place for people and teams to sign up for the upcoming event.

For the second time in the event's history, Glenns Ferry will host the county's Relay for Life observance. Held at the outdoor track at Glenns Ferry High School, the all-night relay is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. June 14 and will continue until 7 a.m. the following morning.

During last week's rally, relay organizers met for light refreshments as they introduced each committee captain and discussed plans for the fundraiser.

To date, 66 people representing 12 teams across Elmore County have already signed up for this year's relay. Together, they've helped raise nearly $5,500 for cancer research and treatment.

"We are asking all current registered participants to ask one more person to join them in the fight against cancer," said Relay for Life founder Dr. Gordy Klatt. "If each of us gives just one more person the opportunity to fight back, we can bring 25,000 more relayers to the track" during events across the United States.

"Relayers raise the money, the money funds research (and) research kills cancer," Klatt said.

In a way, those that participate in the yearly relay effort are helping to kill cancer, he added.

Last year, the county's Relay for Life effort collected more than $39,000, making it the chapter's largest fundraiser since it formed in 2004.

During the upcoming relay, at least one member from each relay team will remain on the track. Proceeds from the event benefit the American Cancer Society.

"If each of us raises at least $100, we will have contributed more than $5 million in the fight against cancer," the doctor said.

This year's Relay for Life coincides with the American Cancer Society's 100th anniversary.

The upcoming relay also will feature games and other activities with many of this year's teams expected to also bring food to sell. Money raised through the relay helps fund a variety of cancer society projects, including helping patients pay for travel expenses to medical and treatment appointments in addition to cancer research and education.

Each team is required to pay a $100 entry fee. Members of each team are encouraged to raise another $100 in donations, which qualifies them to earn a rising star T-shirt commemorating this year's Relay for Life. Teams also raise money through bake sales and other events.

In 2011, teams from the southern Idaho region, which extends from Ontario, Ore., to the Idaho and Wyoming border, collected more than $1.6 million in donations. A majority of those funds went to Idaho State University and the University of Idaho for cancer-related research, according to Jan Landon, the county's event coordinator.

While Relay for Life supports American Cancer Society programs, it also works on behalf of survivors and their caregivers. Landon said this year's goal includes getting survivors involved in their community while encouraging the community to get involved in the lives of the survivors.

It's a process that continues throughout the year as the community makes known its commitment to honor survivors and fight against cancer, said Landon, a registered nurse.

Reflecting on the days when she entered the nursing field in 1981, Landon said a diagnosis of breast cancer and leukemia were once considered a "death sentence." Today, those cancers can be treated when detected early due largely in part to the "accomplishments and foresight" of the American Cancer Society, she said.

Among those expected to attend this year' relay include Cassandra Hollenbeck, who previously served as the publicity chair for the county's Relay For Life chapter.

Hollenbeck, who lost her brother, Tommy Fain, to cancer in five years ago, has remained an active member with the local Relay for Life event since 2008. That same year, her mother, Donna Fain, also joined the effort.

Following her brother's death, Hollenbeck and her mother created their own team, Tommy's Invincibles -- a group that participated in the relay the past two years. The team walked in memory of Fain's son as well as her brother-in-law, Ted Sweeney, who was also stricken by the disease.

"It helps keep his (Tommy's) memory alive; not that I could ever forget him," Fain said. "It gives me hope that parents won't have to live a year like we had to live with Tommy."

To register for this year's Relay For Life, go online to www.ElmoreRelay.org. People can sign up for an existing team or create one of their own. Participants can continue to register up to the day of the relay, Landon said.

Survivors don't pay a registration fee and can sign up online or at the Glenns Ferry Health Center.

The Elmore County Relay for Life organization will hold a "survivors and caregivers tea" from 2 to 4 p.m. April 27 at the American Legion Hall, 515 East 2nd South Street in Mountain Home. Survivors and caregivers interested in attending can register on-line or by calling Sara Lori at 590-5656 or Jackie March at 661-492-3371.