Relay For Life baton passes from year to year, and still is going strong
Published on -10/21/2009, 1:34 PM
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By KALEY CONNER
Sporting a rainbow wig, a red foam nose and a colorful clown costume, Faye Miller walked around the room demonstrating how to make balloon animals.
As co-chairwoman of this year's Ellis County Relay for Life, Miller was doing her part to get participants geared up for this year's event, "Carnival for a Cure."
Miller has helped raise funds for the local event for about a dozen years, becoming interested in the cause because her mother battled cancer.
"It hits pretty close to home," she said.
A Hays resident, Miller and her husband also organize an annual poker run to raise funds for research.
Committee members and participants gathered at the Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas administrative building Tuesday evening to celebrate the official kickoff of the 2010 event.
The annual event, intended to raise money for research through the American Cancer Society, will be June 4 and 5 at Felten Middle School.
Organizers hope to enlist 30 teams and raise at least $90,000. More than $80,000 was collected last year.
While many gathered Tuesday have been faithful relay participants for many years, others are newer to the event. Jolene Maley was there to represent her team, which will consist of about 15 J.C. Penney Co. employees.
The team wanted to get more involved in relay activities, said Maley, who was wearing a breast cancer awareness shirt that said "Fight like a girl."
Both her sister and her grandmother have battled the disease.
"It's a good cause," she said. "Everybody has somebody that is affected by cancer."
Plans for this year still are in the works, but organizers hope to get fundraising efforts off to a strong start. There will be a bake sale at The Mall, 2918 Vine, on Dec. 12.
In fact, Kim Peach, a community manager with the ACS, said her coverage area exceeded financial goals by $30,000 last year overall, despite economic concerns.
"I think when people truly believe in a cause, it just keeps on going," Peach said. "I'm proud of all the relayers here."
