Cancer society kicks off annual fundraising drive

The Canadian Cancer Society held a silent auction and 50-50 event at the official kickoff for the Relay for Life at the Barley Mill Pub on Saturday evening.

“Every year we have a kickoff event to get everyone all ready to go for the relay. It’s our first fundraiser for the event, and we have a lot of great sponsors for the event. It’s a great opportunity to get people out and see what the relay is all about,”said organizer Eric Kutschera

This year, the relay will feature some changes, brought about to draw bigger crowds to the event. Traditionally, the relay is held at night time, starting at 6 p.m and running until 6 a.m.

This year, the relay will start at 11 a.m, and run until the survivors’ lap at 11 p.m.

“After each relay, we do a survey to see what we can do different. Obviously over time, people say it’s a long night and most people end up leaving around 12 a.m. The Canadian Cancer Society wanted to take a look at that. The relay is co-ordinated by the American Cancer Society, so we approached them with the proposed change,” said Kutschera.

Last year, the 26 teams participated in the relay raised $37,000, a total organizers hope to topple in 2015.

“Our fundraising goal for Penticton is about $40 000, which is completely doable, but we need the participants to make it happen,” said Jennifer Dies, the co-ordinator of the event here in Penticton.

“By switching to a daytime event, it should enable the rest of the community to get on board. It’s hard to ask people to come out at two in the morning and walk laps, so we’re really hoping shifting it to the daytime will help,” said Dies.

The Cancer Society has put out a call for more interested teams, and for more volunteers this year.

Not only is the relay a fundraising effort, but it is also held to honour those who have died from cancer. Very few people don’t know someone affected by the disease, and this is one of the society’s main efforts in bringing more awareness to the fight.

Our f undraising goal for Penticton is about $40,000, which is completely doable, but we need the participants to make it happen.

Event co-ordinator Jennifer Dies

BRYAN ENEAS/Special to the Herald From left, Ron Brace, Jeanne Underhill, Lois Fedorak, Evelyn Markin and Jan Betts are members of PUCKS, one of the teams participating in this year’s Relay For Life, hosted by the Canadian Cancer Society. The team will...