2008 Relay For Life of Lake Travis Kick-Off Meeting Date Set
The date has been set for the kick-off meeting for the 2008 Relay For Life of Lake Travis. It will be February 15 at Buster's BBQ, which is on RM 620 in Bee Cave, at 6:30PM.
For the last 6 years I have been involved in the American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Lake Travis, chairing it three times. Although not the event chair this year, I do want to help the planning committee by recruiting cancer survivors, teams and participants.
Relay For Life is an overnight event with three main purposes. The first is to honor cancer survivors and their families and care-givers. We do this by having survivors and their families take the first lap around the track wearing purple shirts while everyone cheers for them. The second is to raise awareness of and educate people about cancer and cancer prevention. The third is to raise funds for research. Almost entire volunteer driven, there is only one staff partner from the American Cancer.
What happened in advance of the event is that some people choose to become team captains. They recruit 8-15 members for the team and everyone has a goal of raising a minimum of $100. Funds can be raised any way team members want to raise them, including making a personal web page page that can take donations. Teams choose campsites on the field (the event is at the high school track) and set up a camp the night of the event. Each team has the goal of having one person walking the track all night. Attached is a description of the symbolism of the event. To see some photos, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/rfllt2006/.
We try to keep people upbeat by having entertainment in the form of bands for half of the night. Most people bring food, although grills are not allowed (school rules). Around 10PM we shut off the lights and hold a luminaria ceremony. Luminaria bags are sold in advance and people decorate them in honor of someone who has battled cancer. We line the track and spell out HOPE in the stands with the glowing bags. That is always very moving.
The event will be April 11/12 at the Lake Travis High School tracks starting at 7:30PM.
If there is interest in Relay, I would be happy to present the event to groups and answer questions.