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Brick Gears Up For Relay For Life
Annual American Cancer Society Event Raises Funds, Spreads Awareness
By Catherine Snipe
Several months from now, residents will take turns walking round a track - and it will last for several dozen hours.
Organizers call this less a test of extreme endurance and more a chance to remember those whose lives are touched by cancer. This test of the Relay For Life.
The Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society's overnight spring fundraiser, is what the township council said could be a great day for Brick.
At its meeting this week, township council discussed the annual event and urged residents to participate.
The township will kick off its annual Relay for Life efforts tomorrow in what one organizer hopes will not only aid the American Cancer Society's fight against cancer, but will also unite the tonight leadership.
"All of you together would provide a unified community working toward a common good," said Jim Altobello, an assistant vice principal for the Lake Riviera Middle School.
He said he hoped to have the support of the council, not just in word but in deed, by seeing the officials at the annual event, which begins with a candle ceremony to remember cancer survivors and to memorialize others.
Councilwoman Kathy Russell encouraged everyone to join the efforts. She volunteered in previous years on her own time, helping with computer tasks.
"We've all been touched by someone
who has cancer," Russell said. "I am someone familiar - a mother,
a sister, another sister … Cancer affects each and every one of us." Russell described the relay as a big event and a great fundraiser.
Council President Stephen Acropolis echoed Russell's comments, and Councilman Anthony Matthews encouraged residents and officials to get involved.
"To me, it's so important to walk a lap," Matthews said. "I hope there's the full support of the council on what is a great Brick day."
The event has local businesses, school groups and resident teams camping out in tents overnight, as activities abound. Many of the teams pick themes and decorate their tents and dress up in costume.
The kickoff for the Relay for Life is tomorrow, Friday February 2 at 7 p.m. in the Brick Police Athletic League building.
The American Cancer Society's Jersey Shore Region includes Brick's Relay for Life. Throughout its coverage area the ACS will have several relays to serve as fundraisers, including nearby Toms River.
The event is not only a fund raiser to support community efforts to cure cancer, it is also a means to spread information about preventing cancer. The event is a large one for the township school district, which in previous years had several teams of teachers, students and administrators.
Each team member (teams are around a dozen people) must raise $100 to participate.
For more information, call the ACS at 732-914-1000.
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