Organizers urge community to step up

RELAY FOR LIFE
Challenge is to build on prior years' excitement

In just over a month, residents of Kilgore will come together for one night to show their support for the fight against cancer. Is the community ready? Is the momentum that has been generated over the past three years continuing to burn?

Although the answer will officially be known when the final financial tally comes in after Relay, the committee feels like the community will once again step up and support the Relay for Life as they have the past three years.

"If fighting cancer, a disease which touches everyone's life is something this community is serious about, then we will have a successful Relay for Life fund raiser," Jerry Camp, chairman of the event for this year, commented.

The 2006 Relay for Life fundraiser is scheduled for Friday, April 28 and Saturday, April 29 at the Kilgore Youth Softball/Soccer complex on SH 135. Events begin on Friday night at 7 p.m. and will conclude at 7 a.m. Saturday morning.

Survivors of cancer, approximately 125 of them, will take the first lap of the evening at 7 p.m. along with caregivers and other people who assist those afflicted with cancer. Then the nearly 30 teams will send walkers to the course for a 12-hour journey that is not always easy but is always meaningful.

"You may not want to be out at 3 a.m. in the cold and wet walking around a course," Camp said. "But, you can understand why you are doing it and thank God that you are not the one battling cancer on a day-to-day basis."

Kilgoreites have really backed Relay for Life the first three years it has been held, according to committee members. The group expected $25,000 in donations the first year and more than doubled that. The next year the goal was $75,000 and the group topped $90,000. Last year the goal was $95,000 and the Kilgore effort just barely missed the $100,000 mark. Towns like Tyler and Longview, with populations more than five times the size of Kilgore, generate about $140,000 each in donations, not that much more than our community of 11,000.

"We have had excellent support from the community, and we appreciate that very much," Camp said. "Each and every dollar we raise is funneled into important cancer research that will hopefully put an end to this dreaded disease."

But, the committee is fighting the same thing that continually challenges those who plan the Laird Memorial Hospital Gala and other important community fund raisers in Kilgore. How do you keep people excited about participating in the fund raiser and keep them continually raising more dollars than the year before?

"That is a challenge, and we feel we are meeting that challenge head-on by keeping fresh ideas in our activities," Camp said. "First of all, Relay for Life is unique in that you are really asking people to come and spend the night at the site. That is different from any other fundraiser, and that may limit some people. Also, you are asking people to come up with new and unique ways to raise money that the other 25 or so teams have not come up with already. It is not easy to be involved in Relay and keep things moving forward if you just stop and look only at the logistics of the fundraiser and the number of people who are competing for donation dollars. But, when you see a friend, a neighbor, a loved one or a casual acquaintance with cancer, then it is very easy to be part of this fight."

Still, committee members are a bit anxious about the fundraising since several teams have either combined or dropped out and others have not yet agreed to be part of the event yet.

"We fully expect Kilgore to support us at or above what they did last year," Camp said. "We would not spend months planning the event, asking for people to participate, raising money and then staying out at the site all night if we did not believe it. But, we are just a little over a month away from Relay, and it is now time for people to begin to think about opening their wallets and giving generously so we can be successful."

The goal of Relay is to have a majority of the money raised and turned in by that night. That allows the teams to complete last-minute fund raising, celebrate their accomplishments and bond with other participants who have also been working for months.

"We stay up all night because cancer never sleeps," Camp said. "By the time we get to Relay, we need to have the majority of our funds raised and spend that night honoring the cancer survivors, remembering those who have lost their lives in the luminary ceremony and celebrating the success of the fund raising with activities and an endurance test for 12 hours."

One of the more interesting fund raisers will occur Monday, March 27 from 5 until 7 p.m. in the Charles K. Devall Student Center when the International Students at Kilgore sponsor a Taste of the Nations. Many of the International students will prepare dishes native to their countries and those who attend will be able to sample all of the fares for one ticket price. Tickets are $5 each and are available from any International Student or from Brenda Thornhill, director of the International Student program at Kilgore College.