Relay for Life raises over $20,000

The Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay for Life is one of the charity’s biggest fundraisers. The event raised over $20,000 at the 2017 event.

Yorkton’s Relay for Life looked a bit different this year. The the event moved indoors to the Gallagher Centre curling rink.

Mandee Roussin with the Canadian Cancer Society in Yorkton, explains that the decision to change the relay was based on feedback from participants. A combination of foul weather at recent Relay for Life events made them consider a change, and participants were also interested in going to a six hour event.

“It’s for our survivors, a lot of them appreciate being indoors instead of walking a long track outdoors.”

While not everyone was on board with the change at first, Roussin is overwhelmed with the end result, and believes that the positivity of the event shows that Relay for Life is about more than the location.

“At first people were skeptical, we heard different things, people don’t like change... We had team members come back because it was indoors and the hours were shorter.”

Relay for Life is a community-based event, Roussin says, and the success of the event derives from the community, whether its the survivors, the teams participating or the volunteers.

“It’s celebrating survivors, remembering people who have passed, and giving people the hope to fight back... It sure is inspirational seeing a survivor at one year and a survivor at 47 years.”

One of the walkers that approved of the change was Alice Light, a survivor of colorectal cancer who walked in the opening lap. For her, the move to an indoor event makes it easier to walk the opening lap, since it’s a shorter distance. A regular at the Relay for Life, she enjoys the chance to participate each time.

“I really enjoy coming out to this... It’s nice to see every year, the other survivors coming out.”

Eleven years after her diagnosis, Light admits that she did not think she would live this long, and is glad she’s still here and still able to support the walk. She has words of encouragement for anyone who has received a cancer diagnosis.

“It’s pretty rough the first while, but just hang in there, you’ll make it.”

The event will be back in 2018.