From corporate car washes to flocking pink flamingos, supporters of this year’s abbreviated Relay For Life are working to support and promote the June 13 event, and to attract more teams to Blue & Gold Stadium for this annual community cancer awareness and fundraising event.

According to Alyssa Amaturo, American Cancer Society’s community manager for Newtown’s Relay, the goal of a monthlong May sign-up challenge is to get even more community members on board to make the 2015 event as exciting as ever, given the fact that the local event is packing virtually all of the traditional Relay activities into a shorter time frame than in years past.

This year’s Relay — which for the unfamiliar, is not a sporting event — is taking place Saturday, June 13, at Newtown High School’s stadium. After a decade of success hosting overnight Relays that have raised more than $2.5 million, local volunteers switched gears for 2015, taking advantage of the opportunity to host a more eclipsed event that will begin at 3 pm and end at midnight.

Newtown’s Relay For Life will recognize and celebrate all caregivers who give time, love, and support to their friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers facing cancer. The 2015 Relay is celebrating 2015 Honorary Relay For Life Caregiver Jack Nahmias and Honorary Survivor Lauren Pade.

Caregivers of residents who have lost their battles with cancer are also encouraged to attend.

The first Relay for Life occurred in May 1985, when Dr Gordy Klatt walked and ran for 24 hours around a track in Tacoma, Wash., ultimately raising $27,000 to help the American Cancer Society. A year later, 340 supporters joined the overnight event. Since those first steps, the Relay For Life movement has grown into a worldwide phenomenon, raising nearly $5 billion to fight cancer.

Newtown’s recruiting promotion involves any team or team member already committed to the event. Any currently registered Relay participant who signs up a new team or teams for June 13 will receive a raffle ticket for a drawing, with the grand prize winner having a choice of receiving a FitBit activity tracker, a GoPro sports video camera, a Beats “Pill” Bluetooth music player, or an Amazon Kindle Fire tablet.

That sign-up challenge ends May 27.

Relay Fundraisers

In other relay news, team and community fundraisers are popping up all over town. On Saturday, April 25, Newtown Savings Bank held its annual car wash to benefit the event.

According to 2015 Relay Chairman Chris Farrington, there will be a musical celebration dubbed, “The Power of Purple Festival of Arts,” on Friday, June 5, at the Reed School. Details about that relay-related event are due to be announced in the coming weeks, he said.

Thanks to Team Giggles for a Cure, pink flamingos will once again be landing in Newtown neighborhoods between May 16 and 30. For just $20, anyone can arrange a “flocking” with a gaggle of these colorful birds showing up on the property of a friend, neighbor, or workplace as a reminder of the upcoming Relay.

Anyone interested can e-mail team organizer Mary Kate Sandler at marykate.sandler@gmail.com to arrange their donation and confirm the address where the flock should land.

Anyone hosting an event is invited to contact The Bee with details. As long as an event is going to be a full fundraiser — in other words, where 100 percent of any money collected is donated — the newspaper will help with publicity. Send fundraising information to John Voket at john@thebee.com or Shannon Hicks at shannon@thebee.com. 

As of Saturday, May 2, according to Newtown’s official Relay website, 29 registered teams — representing 184 registered participants — had raised just over $44,000 toward this year’s Relay. 

The 2015 Relay has a Dr Seuss theme, and established teams are urged to use an online signup sheet to choose their team’s Dr Seuss book, to help avoid duplication of themed sites at the event. Access that theme sign-up at .volunteerspot.com/login/entry/11058228900119

The Relay committee is also looking to gather photos (in jpeg format) of friends, colleagues, and loved ones who have lost the battle with cancer, or who are survivors, for the event’s emotionally charged luminarias slide show. Pictures should be attached and sent to relayforlifeofnewtown@gmail.com.

Anyone wishing to form a team, or to just make a personal donation supporting the Newtown Relay is asked to visit the local event website — relayforlife.org/newtownct.