Relay For Life Teams On Track

To Outpace Last Year’s Roster

By John Voket

Relay For Life held its second informational meeting at the Newtown Middle School April 7, one of the final gatherings ahead of the townwide awareness building and fundraising event for the American Cancer Society. This year’s local Relay will be held at the Fairfield Hills campus, but the location on campus has shifted to the space between the Newtown Municipal Center and Newtown Youth Academy (NYA).

A Kids for a Cure Relay precedes the main event Saturday, June 4, between 4:30 and 6 pm, with Relay For Life opening ceremonies scheduled for 6 pm. Activities wrap up 11 hours later at 5 am on Sunday, June 5.

To open the April 7 meeting, Relay Co-chair Addie Sandler welcomed participants and introduced Honorary Chair Betty Presnell, who Ms Sandler said inspired the crowd by sharing her reasons for Relaying. She spoke directly to fellow survivors first saying, “sometimes you will feel like you are hit by a truck and other times, you just wish you were, but either way do not lose hope.”

“I Relay because growing up in Tennessee my grandpa was a preacher and we learned at early ages to help everyone you can, in whatever way you can,” Ms Presnell related to a crowd of more than three dozen volunteers, team members, and committee representatives. “I Relay for my family who had cancer of lots of different kinds, who have all passed so I remember and honor them. Dexter, with bone cancer, James with throat cancer, Nettie with stomach cancer, Dan, Wilma, Frank, and Faye with lung cancer. My husband’s sister Kathy also passed with breast cancer, so we try and do what we can to help, where we can.”

Ms Presnell told the attendees that while she Relayed for a number of years, when in January 2010 she heard the fateful words, “You have cancer, ” it did not seem real.

“I didn’t admit it for a while ‘til two of my friends gave me a bracelet that says what cancer can’t do. It can’t corrode faith, shatter hope, destroy peace, silence courage, invade the soul, steal eternal life, conquer the spirit, cripple love, kill friendship, suppress memories.”

Ms Presnell said she credits, “God, my husband Richard, my family, church friends, the friends who are like family, the folks at the hospital, especially at the coffee shop where I work, the TOPS members, the doctors, who all gave their unconditional love and support for all the surgeries, chemo treatments and whatever happened to me, they shared with me.

“I really didn’t know what to expect or feel, so as my journey went on, I talk to everyone that I can, and try and help where I can,” she concluded. “Pray for each person, reach out and touch someone as their family member goes through treatment, fix a meal, be there to listen, encourage, give hope and support.”

Top Fundraisers

During the meeting, Lisa Smith recognized current top fundraising teams, Las Mamacitas and Team M&M, with American Cancer Society recognition lawn signs for them to place at their tent site at the Relay event. Additionally, teams with at least eight registered participants — Brainstorm, Catching a Cure, Extreme Fitness Martial Arts, Las Mamacitas, Team M&M, Newtown Savings Bank, NUMC Angels, We Are Family, and Wings of Hope — were given limited edition “Hope” photographs, signed by cancer survivor, photographer and Newtown Bee Associate Editor Shannon Hicks.

Kyle Lyddy from the NYA shared the activity schedule for indoor competitions for the day of Relay.  Participants can join in five activities, and will receive points by ranking in the top three positions for each event. The leaders of each age group throughout the night will win prizes donated by local businesses.

Newtown High School senior Sarah Zuvanich, who serves on the Entertainment Committee, encouraged teams to sponsor entertainment laps throughout the night.  Immediately Team M&M volunteered to organize the Miss Relay contest, which is a favorite at the Relay.

Newtown Savings Bank was once again recognized for their corporate sponsorship of Relay For Life, again pledging $10,000 to area Relay events.

 

Auction Items Needed

A plea was made for online auction items by chairman Dale Cuddy. The auction is scheduled to open on May 16 and run until May 26. 

Debuting three years ago, the online auction has raised more than $35,000 for the American Cancer Society as part of the $1.5 million that Newtown’s Relay participants raised over the past seven years.  Online auction proceeds help fund cancer research, education, and services for people who are dealing with a cancer diagnosis. 

Attendees were encouraged to appeal to family, friends, and Newtown neighbors to be contributors; donated auction items are tax deductible. To donate, visit www.biddingforgood.com/newtownrfl, click on “Donate an Item,” input contact information, logo, website, item description, item value, and photo.  Then e-mail relayforlifeofnewtown@gmail.com to inform organizers if donations will be dropped off or should be picked up by Relay volunteer. 

To wrap up the April meeting on an inspirational note, Luminaria Chairman Chris Farrington led the audience in a mini luminaria ceremony.  Participants cracked glow sticks in recognition of friends and family lost to cancer.

Following the meeting tent site locations were chosen by team captains in order of registration. An updated view of the event site and tent sites taken can be viewed on the Relay For Life website at www.relayforlife.org/newtownct.

“It is not too late for more folks in Newtown to get involved in this year’s Relay on June fourth and fifth,” Ms Sandler told The Bee. “They can either go to our website to register, or attend the next informational meeting at the Newtown Middle School at 7 pm on May 5.”

Why I Relay

2011 Newtown Relay for Life Co-Chairman Addie Sandler’s Top Ten List of things that inspired her this month:

1. I learned that Ken Ayles’ doctor told him in December that last year they discovered the IDH1 gene mutation, which is responsible for 70 percent of his type of tumor...so now they are working on a targeted therapy which may be in clinical trials within two years.  If successful, this would change everything!  This is why we Relay.

2. The personal pages of Gina Wolfman and Terri Reisert on Team M&M and their team spirit and dedication.

3. I learned that Chris Farrington reached 11 years of survivorship!

4. In TJ Maxx, a teenager came to me and told me he was planning on breaking his all-time fundraising record of $800. His goal is $1,000 and I know he will make it!

5. Drove by a Road To Recovery van and I felt so proud to know in some small part my work on Relay For Life helped provide that ride to a cancer patient.

6. I was invited to five different team fundraisers this month: Las Mamacitas, Brainstorm, Hope Pass It On, Extreme Fitness Martial Arts, and We are Family.

7. The support of community: Auction items have been donated, the owner/operated bus drivers under Denise Buckley’s leadership agreed to provide bus service to and from parking at Reed, and NYA agreed to be a highest level in-kind event sponsor.

8. Betty Presnell started collecting recycling again outside her house at 86 The Boulevard.

9. I saw lots of RFL fundraising cans in the community.

10. The amount of teams since last meeting doubled from 15 to 30.