Compiled by The Bedford Citizen
The American Cancer Society’s 10th annual Relay for Life of Bedford will begin at Sabourin Field on Saturday afternoon, May 16, and end 6 am the following morning, Sunday, May 17. Participating teams will pitch tents and spend Saturday night, with at least one member of each team on the track at all times.
According to the Bedford’s Relay for Life web page, nearly 200 individuals on 27 teams will participate, raising almost $35,000 for cancer research. A 15-member team, SoleMates, has exceeded their $3,500 fundraising goal, and Hayley Bayen leads the individual contributors exceeded her original goal of $1,000.
The opening ceremony at 4 pm on Saturday afternoon will feature local cancer survivors and their caregivers taking a celebratory first lap around Sabourin Field. The Survivors Lap is open to anyone who has ever been diagnosed with cancer. Survivors and Caregivers are invited to register in person to participate beginning at 2:30 at the track. As the survivors make their way around the track, participants cheer them on in a demonstration of support and celebration.
Hayley Bayen will share her experiences as a cancer survivor during the opening ceremony. Diagnosed when she was just a five-year-old, Hayley thanks her family for their support on her Relay web page, and is proud to be able to participate in Relay for Life. A member of Bedford High School’s Class of 2015, Hayley will graduate in a few weeks and can look back on a senior year filled with athletics, a Globe Scholastic Gold Medal for her ceramics work, and this weekend’s participation in Relay for Life.
And Bayen invites others to participate, “Please donate. Your donation may save a life. The more donationations means the more birthdays someone out there might have. You may not see what just ten dollars may do but to a cancer patient all they really need is that one extra bit of money to find the research to keep them alive. Even if cancer does not directly relate to you please donate anyway. Donating that money will make some person’s day or maybe even their life! As of now I am a survivor for about 12 years. I wish that everybody with cancer will one day have the chance to say that as well. Join me in the fight against Cancer!!!”
A Kids’ Tent with games, relay races and crafts for children up to Grade 5 will be open from 4 to 7 pm, with a Kids Fight Back Lap at 5:45. The traditional and very moving Luminaria ceremony will begin at 9 pm.
About Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society:
- Relay for Life is a community event where teams and individuals set up campsites and spend nearly a full 24-hour day walking in memory of loved ones and fundraising for cancer research. Each team has at least one participant on the track at all times. The money raised supports groundbreaking cancer research, education and prevention programs, and critical services for people facing cancer.
- The American Cancer Society is a global grassroots force of nearly three million volunteers saving lives and fighting for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. As the largest voluntary health organization, the Society’s efforts have contributed to a 22 percent decline in cancer death rates. The five-year survival rate for all cancers has risen to 68 percent, and there are an estimated 14 million Americans alive today who have been diagnosed with the disease.
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