Soggy ground, sudden downpours and chilly temperatures Saturday
didn
’t keep walkers and cancer survivors away from Morgan Hill’s
second Relay for Life, a 24-hour marathon to raise money for the
American Cancer Society.
Soggy ground, sudden downpours and chilly temperatures Saturday didn’t keep walkers and cancer survivors away from Morgan Hill’s second Relay for Life, a 24-hour marathon to raise money for the American Cancer Society.
“It was a fantastic weekend,” said Chris Schilling, one of the event’s organizers. “We had 35 teams, 135 survivors, we grossed approximately $160,000, and we had great meals. We had less teams and made more money – how could you complain about that?”
The event, held at Community Park, lasts for 24 hours because, said organizers, cancer never sleeps. Each of the teams have at least one person walking the track at all times during the event.
Although the weather didn’t keep walkers away, it did cause a few problems. Bands scheduled to perform as part of the event had to be canceled, although the first band did play for more than an hour.
The rain also kept some from socializing between their walk times.
“Most people tended to just hunker down in their tents when they weren’t walking and the weather was bad,” Schilling said. “And I think fewer people, especially those with children, stayed the whole 24 hours. Some of the walkers just came for their shift and then left.”
One of the popular features of the event, the luminarias lit for cancer victims lining the track, was definitely threatened by the weather. But the more than 2,000 luminarias refused to be extinguished.
“It was a miracle,” Schilling said. “When we first started putting them out, we had some sack incineration issues. But at other Relay events, the saying is, when bags catch fire, an angel is coming down, which is a nice way to look at it. With the wind, some of the candles kept going out and we’d have to get them set back up and re-lit. But even with all the downpours, at 9 a.m. (Sunday) some of them were still burning.”
The luminarias were lit Saturday evening at dusk.
Considering all of the weather difficulties, organizers discussed moving the date of next year’s event, and Schilling announced during the closing ceremonies that it could be moved to August.
“We had a real mixed response to August,” she said. “We’re going to talk about it. We’ve had two years with rain. But if not August, then possibly later in May. We haven’t decided yet, but as soon as a decision is made, we’ll let everyone know.”
Schilling said she was excited that so many people participated in the event, both the planning and support prior to the event and in the event itself.
“People were out there: we had Girl Scout troops helping with the luminarias, we had plenty to eat and lots of coffee, thanks to our wonderful sponsors, we had kids having fun in the kids camp, and we had lots of people participating in the bone marrow testing,” she said.
The amount of money raised is not a final total, said Schilling. The event books stay open officially until August, so any money coming in before then is credited to this year’s event.
“We had teams telling us more money was coming in this week, and some that had company matching funds coming in,” she said. “Our numbers will still go up. Last year, our final total was over $140,000, so we’re pleased that we’ve already gone over that amount. We had hoped to better that, but with the economy being what it is, we weren’t sure if we could. We are very excited to have raised this much.”
The team from Fritter, Schultz & Conlan Physical & Occupational Therapy, was the top business fundraiser, as they were last year, raising more than $10,000 with money still coming in.
Planning for next year’s event won’t begin until October or November, Schilling said, but organizers are happy to hear from people who want to help with any aspect of the event.
“We will take anybody and everybody who wants to help,” she said. Contact Schilling, 782-1463, or Ingrid Wafelbakker, 776-8987, to sign up for next year.
