May 4, 2005

Get set for this month’s Relay For Life

Willow Glen’s fifth annual Relay For Life is readying for the 24-hour celebration May 14-15 on the field at Willow Glen High School.

Pam Greene, Debbie Evans and Sherry Rodriguez have each been committee members the past five years of the Willow Glen Relay For Life.

This year’s committee is working toward a goal of 40 teams and $80,000. By late April, 33 teams had registered. Last year’s event drew 25 teams and raised $70,000. Among the teams are two with younger relayers, one from Willow Glen Middle School and another from a local Girl Scout troop.

The funds raised at the relay go directly to cancer support programs, early awareness and detection programs and research. Participants come from all walks of life—survivors, patients and family and medical support staff—as well as local businesses, schools and community groups.

This year, Georgia Ladd, the founder of the Willow Glen Relay and chair of the event in 2001 and 2002 returns. Georgia, a cancer survivor, has worked at O’Conner Hospital for 26 years.

“I relay for my daughters, family and friends, so that they may have the hope of living cancer-free lives. I relay in honor of family and friends who survive their bouts with cancer, and I relay in memory of family and friends who died all too soon from this disease.”

Sherry Rodriguez returns for her fifth year as part of the relay. “My first year I volunteered for the first Willow Glen relay at the request of my friend who was being treated for breast cancer. It was the most moving 24 hours of my life, and ever since then relay has become a huge part of who I am. Now I relay in honor of my father who suffers from cancer and my father-in-law who lost his fight to cancer two years ago. Cancer has affected my life in so many ways and relay is a great way to get involved and make a difference.”

This year is Linda Baxter’s first as part of the relay. “After recently moving to Willow Glen, I wanted to find a way that I could do something positive for the community as well as helping a cause I believe in—the fight against cancer. I lost my father to lung cancer a decade ago, but it still feels like yesterday. While it is challenging to be active on this committee and balance my job at Symantec Corporation, it is worth it if I can help make a difference,” she said.

There are lots of ways to help fight cancer. Relay For Life is probably one of the most fun and at the same time one of the most rewarding. If you would like to register or to join a team, donate money, or become a corporate sponsor, contact Trenton.Rurner@acs.org or call (408) 688-0108.

Teams consist of eight to 15 people. Each team is required to raise funds of $100 or more. Sponsorships include presenting sponsors at $10,000, platinum sponsors at $5,000, gold sponsors at $2,500, silver at $1,000, bronze at $500 or in-kind donation sponsors.