GREENFIELD — Relay For Life of Franklin County, an annual event that honors cancer survivors and remembers those lost to the disease, kicks off Friday at the Franklin County Fairgrounds.
“Cancer has touched every single person, whether they know it or not, in some way,” said Sue Pennison, co-chair of Relay For Life of Franklin County. “When you have a disease that afflicts so many people and affects so many people … we can’t just let it go. We can’t let this continue to happen, where people are having their lives so negatively impacted by cancer.”
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 raise money for the American Cancer Society’s life-saving cancer research and programs. This year, the Franklin County fundraiser hopes to raise $100,000. Pennison said online fundraising will continue through August.
“Doing this, raising money for research and support programs for cancer patients, is an important mission,” she said. “It’s something we need to do to support each other.”
The theme of this year’s event is, “The places we will go for a cure.”
“One of the first things we do as a leadership team is throw out ideas for themes,” Pennison explained. “We look at past themes to see what we’ve done before and try not to repeat anything done recently. We pick whatever we feel is fun and gives our participants plenty of opportunity for decoration and themed laps.”
In addition to the traditional laps for survivors, sponsors and captains, there will be a “Horton Hears a Who!” lap, a “Grinch” lap and a “Green Eggs and Ham” lap, among others.
“When we pick a theme, we’re looking for something everyone can feel a part of,” Pennison noted.
The two-day event, which kicks off on Friday at 5 p.m., includes children’s activities and a basket raffle. At 9 p.m., a luminaria ceremony will take place, honoring those who are still surviving and in memory of those who have lost their battle to cancer. The final lap of the relay is planned for 1 p.m. on Saturday.
“It’s a community event,” Pennison said. “We invite everyone to come.”
Donations can be made online at tinyurl.com/FCRelayForLife.
Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.