It's time to kick-off one of the nation's most successful Relay for Life efforts.
The McDuffie County Unit of the American Cancer Society is set to kick off the annual fundraising campaign with a meeting in the Augusta Tech auditorium on Tuesday, Feb. 1, at 7 p.m., according to a press release issued Monday.
Thomson's Relay for Life event will be held Friday and Saturday, May 13 and 14 at the Thomson High School track. The event begins at 5 p.m. Friday and ends at 9 a.m. Saturday. Teams must have at least 10 members and keep at least one member on the track during the night.
"We would like to see at least 46 teams relay through the night on May 13 to raise money for this important cause," Thomson Mayor Bob Knox, Jr. -- the event's co-chair, said in the press release.
Last year, 2,500 people on 45 teams participated in the local Relay for Life, raising more than $201,000. That amount made McDuffie County the top Relay in the country, based on population.
But it also spread the word about the dreaded disease.
"Relay for Life is as much an awareness raiser about the progress against cancer as it is a fund-raiser," said event Co-Chair Peggy Willis in the press release. "Many of the participants will be people who are cancer survivors themselves. Their involvement is proof of the progress that has been made not only in cancer cure rates, but in the quality of life following cancer treatment."
For more information about the Relay for Life event, please call Ms. Willis at 706-726-2244 or Mr. Knox at 595-1841.
