The American Cancer Society (ACS) is partnering with Weakley County to host the second annual Weakley County Relay for Life on Oct. 18 at the Hardy Graham Football Stadium.
The event, which has a Fall/Monster Mash theme, will begin at 5 p.m. and teams will participate on the track until midnight.
Fifteen teams have already registered to participate in this year’s fundraiser, but ACS is expecting more people to sign up as the event draws near. There is no registration fee for the relay, but teams were encouraged to fundraise throughout the year.
This year’s goal is to raise $110,000 for cancer research. All proceeds go to ACS and the Weakley County Relay for Life.
According to the Weakley County Relay for Life website, participants have already raised just over $49,000.
There is no entry fee into the stadium either.
Elizabeth Newman, the Community Development Manager of ACS, says the county-wide Relay for Life will help bring the community together in support of those who have had cancer, currently have cancer or know someone who has.
“Cancer affects everyone, no matter your age, it knows no name. We want to bring the community together to rally the troops, to honor those that are still fighting, to celebrate those who have won the battle, and to remember those that we’ve lost from this dreadful disease,” Newman said.
“This is exactly why everyone who comes out to Relay and participates does what they do.”
While the suggested deadline to register is Oct. 10, Newman said people will still be able to participate if they sign up afterwards.
“We would like to have everybody that’s going to set up the night of relay to sign up by Oct. 10, because that’s our final meeting before relay… however, if someone wanted to sign up later, we wouldn’t turn them down.”
According to Newman, Relay for Life is a relatively low cost event due to sponsors, vendors and teams donating their time “because our teams want as much to go towards the American Cancer Society and Weakley County Relay for Life as possible.”
Aside from the scheduled walk, Relay for Life will also host games, food vendors, entertainment and competitions with prizes for participants to enjoy. As the theme is Fall/Monster Mash, there will be a costume competition, haunted house, hayrides and more.
Participants are also encouraged to dedicate a luminaria to someone they know who has been affected by cancer. After dark, the participants will light the luminarias in memory of their loved one, which will line the track as they continue to walk.
The ACS has hosted Relay for Life for 22 years, but the 2019 Relay for Life is only the second event all of Weakley County has participated in together. In previous years, multiple organizations in Weakley County would host their own Relay for Life, but by partnering with UTM and the county to form one event, more people were able to participate and more funds were raised, according to Newman.
For more information about the 2019 Weakley County Relay for Life, visit https://secure.acsevents.org/site/TR;jsessionid=00000000.app331a ?pg=entry&fr_id=93786&NONCE_TOKEN=02929C7BFCCC7C0EE46416DA58DF3289 or contact Newman at elizabeth.newman@cancer.org.
