Next month, Relay For Life will be back in Plaquemines Parish for the first time in six years. The popular overnight relay event, sponsored by the American Cancer Society, will be held August 10 from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. at the Belle Chasse High School track and teams have already started to sign up.

“We’re really excited to bring this event back to the community,” said Alisa Harvey, Co-chair of the Plaquemines Parish Relay For Life event. “Our goal is to have 20 teams and we want to raise $30,000.”

Money raised not only goes to Cancer research, but it funds the American Cancer Society’s Hope House— a place where patients receiving treatment can stay free of charge with a family member. The funds also go toward the American Cancer Society’s Hotline, 1-800-227-2345, is really an invaluable resource for patients and their families, says Rebecca Hart, Community Representative for the American Cancer Society.

“I know a lot of people are reluctant to call 1-800 numbers because they usually aren’t very helpful, but this hotline is staffed mostly by doctors who can answer questions and give expert advise,” Hart explained.

How the event works

Teams of 8 to 15  people can sign up on the Relay For Life website, www.relayforlife.org/Plaquemines where they can easily track donations made on behalf of their team or participants on their team.

Essentially, the registered teams camp out around the track, with each team taking turns walking around the track for the duration of the event. Because cancer never sleeps, relays are overnight events up to 24 hours in length. Relayers do not have to walk all night, but each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event.

The relay starts with a Survivor’s Lap— an inspiration time when survivors are invited to circle the track together and help everyone celebrate their triump over the deadly disease. After dark, the teams honor those who have been touched by cancer and remember loved ones lost during the Luminaria Ceremony. During this time, candles are lit inside bags filled with sand, each bag bearing the name of a person touched by cancer. Closing the event is the Fight Back Ceremony where participants make personal commitments— getting a screening test, quitting smoking, etc.

To read more about the 2012 Plaquemines Parish Relay For Life Event or to sign up, go to www.Relayforlife.org/Plaquemines

For more information on sponsorship, how to form a team, or how to get involved with the 2012 Plaquemines Parish Relay For Life, please contact:

Event Co-Chair Alisa Harvey, 504.261.3236
Event Co-Chair Steve Scandurro, 504.453.9655
American Cancer Society Community Representative Rebecca Hart, 504.219.2295