Relay For Life Bank Night June 6

The June 6 meeting for Relay For Life will be held at Newtown Savings Bank at 7 pm. All team captains are asked to attend. Anyone who would like to learn more about Relay For Life also is invited to attend.

It is still not too late to get a team started to participate in the June 11–12 event at Newtown High School. Teams keep at least one walker on the track throughout the night during this activity-filled event that raises money for the American Cancer Society.

Volunteers do not need to be on a team to participate.

Event organizers expect this year’s relay will raise more than the $174,000 raised in the first local relay last year.

Guy and Lynda Russo are co-chairpersons of the relay along with Dawn Escoda and Ivette Gerics, who launched the first relay last year. All have family members and friends who are cancer survivors or who died from the disease.

Praxair, Inc, of Danbury and Mr Russo’s firm, Canaan Partners of Rowayton are the Excalibur sponsors of this year’s relay. Newtown Savings Bank and Nanavaty, Nanavaty and Davenport are the premier sponsors. MasterCard is the platinum sponsor.

This year Newtown Savings Bank has volunteered to host Bank Night, the night that all donations are brought together and counted.

The teams keep at least one walker on the track at all time during the overnight event that culminates at 5 am. Adults and children of all fitness levels can participate.

The overnight event will feature music, entertainment, activities, and food along with a luminaria ceremony that will honor persons who have been touched by cancer. Photos of the individuals should be dropped off to Coldwell Banker/Bob Tendler, 17 Church Hill Road, for inclusion in a slide show during the luminaria ceremony. The deadline is this week.  The photos should have the name of the person in the photo written on the back. Anyone who has questions can contact Alice Mascher at 426-5679.

This year the survivorship dinner will be held in the Newtown High School cafeteria, a move that will save the $3,000 that had to be spent for a tent last year. This means the high school entrance will be closed from 6:30 to 7 pm while the participants are ushered from the field and parking lot into the high school.

More information about the local Relay For Life event can be found at www.acsevents.org/relay/ctnewtown or by calling call Lynda and Guy Russo at 426-2995; Dawn Escoda, 270-7541; Ivette Gerics, 426-3589, or any of the committee chairpersons.