THUNDER BAY – After taking the past two years off to regroup, the Thunder Bay chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society is bringing back a revamped Relay for Life.
The goal is a modest $50,000 and the event has been scaled back, from an overnight affair to a six-hour celebration of cancer survivors and their families, scheduled for June 1 at the Legion Track.
Maria Lento, who 15 years ago was diagnosed with Stage 2 colon cancer, is co-chairing this year’s Relay for Life and said the event was too important to not attempt to resuscitate it to help cover the costs of the programs offered locally by the Canadian Cancer Society.
But equally important to foster the sense of share experience for participants, many of whom are at different stages in their cancer-survival journey.
“It’s a sense of community,” Lento said. “There are tears, there’s laughter, there’s hope. There’s everything. There’s probably every emotion you can think of. You’re going to walk by your luminaries ... and of course you’re crying.
“But then you’re happy because everyone is there together cheering you as you’re walking. And it doesn’t matter what stage you’re in or if there just because someone passed away and you’re there to remember. It’s still a happy thing. It’s an emotional warm feeling.”
Maria Cabral, regional manager at the Canadian Cancer Society for the Northwest, on Friday said it was a tough decision to cancel Relay for Life after the 2016 event, but she admitted it needed a little time on the back-burner to help make it the success it once was.
“I think there just wasn’t the participation that we were looking for. So sometimes when you take something away for a couple of years, it comes back reinvigorated and people are excited about it again,” Cabral said.
“The best part about it was people told me they missed it.”
The renewed Relay for Life is back where it all began, and has been designed as a more family friendly, less intensive fundraiser.
“We’re trying to be realistic. We know this is rebuilding from being away, so we have to set a modest goal. We also simplified things from Relay for Life. Before, where it was an overnight event, we’ve made it a six-hour event. Everybody can go back and sleep in their own beds,” Cabral said.
“The timing of it, from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., is so people can come out and enjoy a great evening with their family and experience everything Relay has to offer, but then head home.”
This year’s Relay for Life will also feature the music of Minnesota country singer Matt Browne, a cancer survivor himself.
Browne will also host a pre-Relay fundraiser on May 31 at Sleeping Giant Brewery, with tickets on sale for just $5.
Participants who register prior to April 1 will also have a chance to win a spot in the Home Hardware VIP Zone, decked out with patio furniture for comfort during the event.
Another change is the removal of the requirement for 10-person teams. Cabral said while teams are expected to have someone walking the track at all times, if it’s a team of one or two, the rule won’t be strictly enforced.
The idea is to get as many participants as possible, she said.
In the past two years, local high school students attempted to fill the gap, hosting much smaller versions of Relay for Life in their school gymnasiums. This year's Relay for Life has already raised $1,211.
To sign up, visit www.relayforlife.ca/thunderbay.
