14 24-HOUR FUNDRAISER Event is 20 years in the running
East Kilbride’s Relay For Life is oldest
It has been making a difference for two decades.
This summer East Kilbride celebrates its 20th anniversary as being the proud host of Scotland’s longest-running Cancer Research UK Relay For Life.
And this year’s committee are determined to celebrate by throwing their most successful event yet.
New teams are being encouraged to come on board and the generous people of East Kilbride and Avondale urged to band together with friends and sign up.
Relay For Life is a 24-hour community event which will take place from 7pm on Friday, June 16 at the town’s John Wright Sports Centre.
Teams of between eight and 15 people, made up of friends, family and colleagues of all ages and fitness levels, take turns to walk round the track to highlight the fact that the fight against cancer never stops.
Fundraisers camp out overnight, trackside, and enjoy games and activities throughout the day.
This year’s committee is being led for the first time by co-chairs Alex Bell and Neil McPhee.
The local men have been involved in Relay For Life since their early teens and dedicate a huge amount of their time each year as key committee members, helping to plan and organise the event.
“We are absolutely committed to Relay For Life and would encourage anyone thinking about fundraising to get involved,” said Alex. “It is a fantastic way to make a difference to Cancer Research UK while spending time with friends and family.
“We can say from personal experience that once you start, you quickly become passionate about this event and the impact it has on the community as well as the charity.”
One team who seem to have got the relay ‘bug’ is Blacklaw Primary School’s team – Blacklaw Beats Cancer – who signed up for the first time last year.
They had an incredible 2016, winning the Spirit of Relay trophy for their outstanding contribution, and have already registered two teams for this summer’s event and started collecting donations.
“Blacklaw Beats Cancer have been a fantastic addition to the Relay,” Alex added. “They bring such fun and enthusiasm and we hope they will be with us for many years to come.
“I know there are loads of other groups and organisations in the local area who could potentially make up a team and join us.
“We would love that to happen. More than one in three people in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer at some stage in their lives; so much progress has been made in the fight against this devastating disease.
“But it’s not just technology or knowledge that is needed to win the battle to beat cancer – it’s funding.”
Money raised through Relay For Life funds the work of thousands of scientists, doctors and nurses who are dedicated to saving more lives by preventing, controlling and curing all cancers.
Thanks to Cancer Research UK’s work, more people are surviving cancer than ever before and survival rates have doubled over the last 40 years.
But despite improvements in treatment, cancer causes more than one in four of all deaths in the UK. For more Relay For Life information see cruk.org/relay or call 0871 641 2602.