North Olympic Peninsula residents are invited to celebrate cancer survivors, remember those who have died from the affliction and fight back against the disease during four upcoming Relay for Life events in Jefferson and Clallam counties — the first set this weekend.
First up is Relay for Life of Jefferson County, which is from noon Saturday to noon Sunday at H.J. Carroll Park, located at 9884 state Highway 19 in Chimacum.
This will be followed by Relay for Life of Port Angeles from 6 p.m. July 22 to noon July 23 at the Clallam County Fairgrounds, 1608 W. 16th St., Port Angeles.
Relays also are scheduled for 5 p.m. Aug. 5 to 10 a.m. Aug. 6 in Forks at Forks High School, 261 S. Spartan Ave., and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Aug. 13 in Sequim at Carrie Blake Park, 202 N. Blake Ave.
Participating teams are asked to register in advance.
During the majority of relays, participants camp out overnight and take turns walking or running around a track or path at the chosen venue.
Events are up to 24 hours long, and each team is asked to have at least one participant on the track at all times.
At the Chimacum and Port Angeles events, “we will have teams camp out around our track and then there will be concession stands and lots of food provided,” said Hannah Halstrom, American Cancer Society community manager.
“There are also local bands that will be playing throughout the night. It is a really fun event.”
Bringing hope
“Our goal mainly is to bring hope to the community,” Halstrom said.
“We all come together and just be there for each other. We have all lost people with cancer, and some are fighting, so we just come there to support each other and celebrate those who have fought back.
“We have some that are five-year survivors, 10-year survivors and 20-year [survivors],” she said.
The event also commemorates those who have died of cancer, Halstrom said.
“We do a big luminaria ceremony where we have bags on the track with the names of those we’ve lost,” she said.
“It kind of just brings the whole community together to realize how cancer has affected us.”
Fundraiser
Relay for Life events raise money for cancer research.
Every year, the Relay for Life movement raises more than $400 million globally, according to the American Cancer Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
The American Cancer Society puts these donations to work, according to its website at www.cancer.org, by investing in research in every type of cancer and providing free information and services to cancer patients and their caregivers.
Locally, “that money is going to help provide services that the American Cancer Society provides, such as Road to Recovery where we give free rides to cancer patients to and from treatments,” Halstrom said.
“We also provide look-good, feel-good classes, and those are classes to teach women going through [chemotherapy] beauty techniques like drawing on eyebrows and putting on fake eyelashes to make them feel better.”
There is also a service called Hope Lodge “where we provide free rooms for patients who have to travel for treatment,” Halstrom said.
The fundraising goal for Jefferson County is $21,000, with $11,754.65 raised as of Wednesday, according to the event website at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-JeffRelay.
In Port Angeles, the goal is $38,000 with $11,754.65 raised as of Thursday morning, according to the event website at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-PARelay.
Jefferson County
“This is a 24-hour event,” Halstrom said of the event in Chimacum.
As of Thursday, 10 teams with 104 participants had signed up, according to the event website.
“We are expecting about 200 people to be there,” Halstrom said.
“The walk is going to start at 12 p.m. [noon], and then we are going to do a survivors ceremony at 6 p.m. where we have all the survivors take a special lap. We just have them walking to give them a special moment to celebrate them.”
The lap is highly emotional at times, Halstrom said.
“We keep good energy while we are there to celebrate and keep that hope alive,” she said.
The events also help cancer patients and their families network with each other, Halstrom said.
For more information about the Forks Relay for Life , see http://tinyurl.com/PDN-FrksRelay.
For more on Sequim’s event, see http://tinyurl.com/PDN-SQRelay.
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Features Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56650, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
