Goodrich – If you’ve never been to a Relay for Life, picture a summer family-style party in a campground setting teeming with activity.
Pair this with a jaunty walk in the company of friends, and wrap that picture in the comfort of firelight and all-night conversations about experiences that have deeply touched your life.
This is Relay for Life, the signature event of the American Cancer Society in which fund-raising teams join together in a 24-hour campout and relay walk.
Goodrich High School students are currently spreading the word about this summer’s Relay event, which will be held June 4 and 5 at the Bicentennial Park complex, located at 1505 E. Grand Blanc Road in Grand Blanc.
GHS? National Honor Society is organizing fund-raisers by recruiting teachers for targets in its pie-throwing contest, and signing up walkers for the round-the-clock relay team.
High school students are enlisting the help of even the youngest Goodrich residents, asking Reid Elementary students to raise funds by walking laps around the playground, said NHS member Tina Sula.
Last year, the students raised $650 for Relay for Life, Sula said.
Since Relay for Life began in 1985, it has involved over two million relay walkers across the globe, including 400,000 cancer survivors, and has raised more than $212 million to fund research, education advocacy, and service programs.
While raising money for cancer research is a goal not to be discounted, many have found Relay for Life an unparalleled experience.
Those who have battled cancer will be ceremoniously honored at dusk; each victim or survivor represented in one of the glowing luminaries encircling the walking track.
If you’re interested in helping others in the Goodrich community battle cancer, call Dorothy Schwedler, local community development director for the American Cancer Society at (810) 733-3702, or contact the National Honor Society at Goodrich High School at (810) 591-2251.