Second annual Relay for Life fundraiser scores big in Berwick
‘Cancer is something that has touched everyone’
Margie Lamb was feeling grateful, happy, and a little apprehensive before the hockey game in Berwick Feb. 11 to raise funds for her Relay for Life team in memory of her husband, Jim.
Wearing a bright pink Meadowbrook Meat Market T-shirt, Lamb was approached by countless people heading to grab seats in the arena.
She was joined by friends and family members, including Jim’s sisters, Suzanne and Beverly, and could not believe more than 100 people turned out to support the team. But there was still a heaviness to the day, as she and others remembered why they were there.
“Cancer is something that has touched everyone, whether you’ve had it, your loved one, a friend, or even an acquaintance. But relay pulls people together, and seeing the community out like this is amazing,” she said.
Community comes together
The event, called Jim’s Babes and Bores, was held at the Kings Mutual Century Centre in Berwick, and saw several community organizations contribute, including Scotiabank, which provided volunteers, the Kings District RCMP, who put a hockey team together to challenge Meadowbrook, K-rock, who donated air time for the event, and Leo Glavine, who played on the RCMP team.
The Meadowbrook team consisted of Lamb’s family and friends, and also people whom Lamb had never previously met – female and male hockey and ringette players joined forces for the event.
This struck her as particularly sweet.
“For people I’ve never even met to come out and help like this – well, that’s something else entirely,” she said. “There are no words.”
‘Cancer has certainly never been a friend’
This is the event’s second year. Jim Lamb’s sister, Suzanne Spicer, has been involved with Relay for about 10 years, getting involved through her work with mental health services at the Western Kings Memorial Health Centre in Berwick.
Four years later, her husband Beverley went through his own cancer journey. He survived, but many other family members and friends did not, according to Lamb.
“Cancer has certainly never been a friend to us, or anyone else, for that matter,” she said.
Spicer said the day was both a wonderful and hard one for her.
“It’s nice to see people here supporting Jim, but we know cancer has touched every person,” she said.
“It’s important we all join the fight and raise funds not just for research, but for education and also people who are going through it.”
One do-it-yourself graphic tee was all it took for Stacey Floris to be hooked.
From shirts that assert it’s simply “too peopley outside” to onesies that read “Daddy’s little beard puller,” Floris is often amused by the designs that come to mind for custom orders.
And then there’s the heartwarming creations that conjure up all the feels, like a tiny T-shirt with the words “I’m Free” posted above a small hand holding three fingers up. “Mom humour,” Floris quickly learned, is a big seller.
From sentimental to sassy, her retail business Viking & Virtue is a new go-to source for custom clothing, home décor and vinyl decals within the Annapolis Valley.
Floris explains that it all started when a friend showed her how to make a graphic T-shirt that illustrated her “slight obsession with llamas.”
“I was like, ‘I will never not to do this again in my life. This is so much fun,’” said Floris.
Floris, a stay-at-home mother who also runs a hobby farm with her husband, started Viking & Virtue in January.
“I think it satisfies all of the creativity pieces I really like because all of the orders are custom,” she said.
She’s thrilled with how quickly the orders came rolling in.
“I’ve been doing a lot of kids’ birthday shirts and toddler shirts,” she said, noting people seem to be excited to back her local business.
“I’m actually so impressed with how supportive everyone’s been. I’m so grateful for all of the support and love.”
As for the name, Floris laughs as she explains that her husband somewhat resembles a viking with his “beard and big hair.” But there’s a bit more to it than that.
“I really like the juxtaposition of what those two things mean. The type of stuff I do is either really sweet for toddlers, or… inappropriate mugs or inappropriate shirts,” she said, adding that she has a good sense of humour about it all.
Orders can be placed online through the Viking and Virtue Facebook page, where a price list can be found.