THUNDER BAY – The Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay for Life has run its course in Thunder Bay – at least at the community-wide level.
An official at the local chapter’s office says a much smaller event will still be staged by students at Churchill Collegiate and Vocational Institute, but dwindling participation rates convinced the organization to direct its fundraising effort elsewhere.
Maria Cabral said they’ve been able to pull in far more money through the annual Dirty Girls Mud Run – as much as $360,000 in its second year – and will combine it with the Conquer the Fort event in 2017 and open it to everyone.
At its peak Relay for Life, which began as a 24-hour event before being scaled back a few years ago, brought in about $100,000 annually, but the total in 2016 dropped to about $60,000.
Cabral, the regional manager for the Canadian Cancer Society Northwest, said it’s tough letting go of Relay for Life, which became a tradition in Thunder Bay over the past 16 years.
“We had certainly seen last year a decline in participation and a decline in revenues,” Cabral said on Thursday.
“So we started to strategize and thought about what events we could do; because the focus is still the same. We have to be here ultimately for the elimination of cancer and helping people with support services through their cancer treatment.”
The revamped mud run will be known and Mud and Suds and is scheduled for June 24 at Mount Baldy. A children’s event will be held the following day in support of Camp Quality.
Relay for Life events will take place at high schools in Dryden and Terrace Bay and community events will take place in Atikokan, Fort Frances and Kenora.
Visit the Cancer Society’s website for more information on how to register for Mud and Suds.
