Saving lives ... celebrating birthdays

PRINCETON — Saving lives and celebrating birthdays is the theme for this year’s American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life events.

On Saturday, the Bureau County Relay for Life committee will have its 2010 kick-off from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Sullivan’s Foods, located at 125 W. Backbone Road in Princeton. The four hour kick-off will include team registrations, food booths, entertainment, door prizes and team fundraisers. The general public as well as teams are invited to attend.

Cindy Wagner, publicity chairman for the Bureau County Relay for Life, said Bureau County tries each year to increase the number of teams participating in its Relay for Life. This year, the goal is to have 45 teams. The cost to register per team is $50. People will be available at Saturday’s kick-off to help teams get organized and with ideas for fundraisers, she said.

Also at Saturday’s kick-off, people can join various committees or dedicate a luminaria in honor of a cancer survivor or victim. Information will also be available on the American Cancer Society’s involvement in cancer research, advocacy and the free local patient services and programs.

Relay for Life began in 1985 when Dr. Gordy Klatt, a colorectal surgeon in Tacoma, Wash., ran and walked around a track for 24 hours to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Since then, Relay for Life has grown to more than 3.5 million participants in 5,000 communities in the United States, along with additional communities in 20 other countries.

Bureau County has raised more than $1 million in the last 15 years for the American Cancer Society through its Relay for Life fundraisers and events.

On a personal note, Wagner said she’s been involved in Relay For Life since 2005. She has a niece who is an 11-year survivor of ovarian cancer and her mother-in-law is a 50-year survivor of breast cancer. Wagner has lost a brother-in-law to brain cancer and a daughter to cervical cancer.

“Cancer does affect everyone. We all know someone, a relative, a friend, or a neighbor, who has been diagnosed with cancer,” Wagner said. “There has to be a way to stop cancer. It devastates lives. Becoming involved with Relay for Life is one thing we can do.”