GREENFIELD — As the annual Franklin County Relay For Life draws near, organizers say that the amount raised for the American Cancer Society thus far, nearly $100,000, is $15,000 ahead of what was earned by this time last year.
The event, now in its 21st year in Franklin County, begins Friday at 5:30 p.m. and will continue into Saturday. It is held at the Franklin County Fairgrounds on Wisdom Way, and registration starts at 3:30 p.m.
Relay For Life is an international event in which participants take turns walking around a track to show support for those who have been affected by cancer, and to raise money for the American Cancer Society’s life-saving cancer research and programs. Since the event was first created in 1985, more than $4 billion has been raised.
This year’s Relay is similar to years past, but organizers hope to surpass the $225,000 that was earned by the end of last year’s Relay, setting a new goal of $230,000.
As of Friday, 59 teams and 515 participants had signed up. Sue Pennison, co-chair of the Franklin County Relay For Life’s planning committee, said that “there seems to be consistent turnout,” and that more than 1,000 people attended last year, many of whom did not register in advance.
“People come from all over Franklin County,” said Lisa McKenna, the second co-chair of the planning committee.
However, Pennison said, it’s important to understand the event is “bigger than folks in Franklin County.”
“When you donate to Relay For Life, you’re benefiting everyone,” she said. “What is raised gets put into a big pot of money and distributed where it’s needed the most.”
Some programs that the American Cancer Society is able to fund using money earned during Relay include a 24-hour hotline that answers questions about cancer; Hope Lodges, which offer cancer patients a free place to stay during treatment; Look Good, Feel Better, a program that offers beauty tips to cancer patients in hopes of lifting their self-esteem; Road to Recovery, which offer rides for cancer patients to and from treatment; and Reach to Recovery, which pairs a recently diagnosed cancer patient with a survivor who serves as a mentor.
At this year’s Relay, according to American Cancer Society Staff Partner Andrew Paterno, some volunteers will try to recruit drivers for the Road to Recovery program.
“There is still a tremendous need for the services the American Cancer Society provides,” McKenna said. “That’s why Relay exists.”
Also new at this year’s Relay will be a lap in which organizers will announce different holiday themes, and participants will dress up according to the holiday. Other themed laps, which are traditional, include a pajama lap for children, an ex-smokers lap and a survivors lap.
There is also a “Miss Relay” lap in which men dress up in women’s clothes. The participant who can collect the most donations during one lap around the track is declared “Miss Relay.”
A lineup of musicians and dance acts will provide entertainment, and survivors are invited to take advantage of a free survivors dinner. However, one of the biggest draws during Relay, according to McKenna, is the luminaria ceremony at 9 p.m. Friday.
“You will not be the same person when you leave,” McKenna said.
The luminaria, she continued, are meant to honor those who are still surviving and in memory of those who have lost their battle. There will even be a section for luminaria dedicated to pets.
Relay For Life continues to be a special, commemorative event that allows those who have — and even those who haven’t — been personally affected by cancer to come together and raise money in hopes of one day finding a cure.
“I don’t want anyone to have to hear those words, ‘You have cancer,’” McKenna said.
“This is not Sue Pennison’s event, this is not Lisa McKenna’s event,” Pennison said. “This is a community event.”