Westminster Relay For Life Unites Community to Fight Back Against Cancer Fri. May 16, 7:30 p.m. at Carroll Co. Ag Center
American Cancer Society Invites Survivors to Celebrate and Walk the Survivors Lap!
If you are a survivor and want to attend the Survivor Lap and dinner, please RSVP. www.RelayForLife.org/westminstermd or contact lori.crook@cancer.org or call 410-781-6907.
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Like so many families in the Hampstead area, Jeff Castonguay’s has been touched by cancer. Jeff was diagnosed with B cell lymphoma in 2002, when he was only 31 years old. Now, as a cancer survivor and the father of two beautiful little girls, Jeff is dedicated to fighting back against cancer for others.
While he was undergoing treatment, Jeff’s friends in New England where he grew up put together a Relay For Life team in his honor. Once he recovered, Jeff joined the Westminster Relay near his home. The very next year, he served as co-chair of the event. 2014 will mark a decade of his involvement in Relay For Life of the American Cancer Society.
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“Relay helps raise funds for research to find new cures for cancer and to provide free American Cancer Society services that support patients through their cancer journey,” explains Jeff. “Participating in Relay is my way to say thank you to the people who fundraised years before my diagnosis to find a cure for my type of cancer, as well as to raise monies for new studies so that other cancer patients can have the same success with treatment as I was provided.”
Relay For Life is an overnight event that takes place at local schools, parks or fairgrounds across the country – there are Relays in more than 5,200 communities with more than 4 million participants.
“When you join Relay, you aren’t just doing it with your own family and friends, you gain a new family,” says Jeff. “I have 1,500 family members at the opening ceremony of Relay. Everyone has a story. Everyone is there to support each other.”
Jeff’s team, made up of family and friends, is called “Cancer Sucks.” “We’ve taken over making the event’s breakfast at 2 a.m. It’s lots of fun. Performance Food Group donates a lot of the food for the meal,” says Jeff, who is also in charge of the event’s logistics this year.
His wife, Kristel, sets up a team cupcake stand for the night at the on-site fundraising area that Jeff describes as “a huge flea market with food, crafts, face painting and entertainment to keep people going all night. Our kids love Relay. They have a blast. There’s plenty to do.”
“One of the most moving moments at Relay is the Luminaria Ceremony at sunset,” says Lori Crook, American Cancer Society specialist for the Freedom Relay For Life. “Hundreds of Luminaria are lit in memory of those lost to cancer and to honor those fighting. Tears are shed and memories are brought back to life. But Relay is not all sad, it’s powerful and full of life. It’s a testimony to how many people want to fight back against cancer. Relays last overnight and teams take turns walking around a track. People don’t have to stay overnight but many do and have a great time.
Jamie Nave, this year’s chair for the Westminster Relay, and her mom originally got involved with Relay through Trinity United Church of Christ of Manchester. Their team, called “Team Hope” sponsors a fundraising Christmas tree at the church every year hung with colored Christmas balls in honor of cancer survivors and loved ones lost. Other ways “Team Hope” fundraises are through a pasta night at Dutch Corner in Manchester, a quilt raffle, a crab feast and a Thanksgiving turkey raffle, describes Jamie.
Recently, Jamie’s uncle lost his eight-year battle with rectal and lung cancer. Her grandfather died of throat cancer, and her aunt has had skin cancer. “I want to support the American Cancer Society in any way I can. They do so much for cancer patients,” says Jamie. This is her second time serving as Relay chair.
Funds raised from Relay For Life provide free American Cancer Society programs and services for cancer patients and their families such as Reach to Recovery, Road to Recovery and Look Good, Feel Better and also support the Society’s 24/7 cancer resource hotline which patients, their loved ones and the community can call anytime for information on cancer. The American Cancer Society is also the largest funder of cancer research outside the Federal Government spending more than $130 million annually to help find cures and has provided grants to 47 Nobel Prize winners.
Jamie also organizes a 5K run in memory of her childhood friend Sarah Redmer Rupp, from North Carroll High School in Hampstead, who passed away from cancer. Part of the run’s proceeds will be donated to the Westminster Relay.
“Relay is very powerful,” says Jamie. “The idea is to stay up all night because we fight cancer around the clock.”
“We invite all the cancer survivors who live in the area – from Hampstead, Westminster, Manchester and all over Carroll County – to come to our Westminster Relay For Life and walk the Survivors Lap and enjoy the activities. The atmosphere is welcoming and spirit-lifting,” says Lori.
The American Cancer Society celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2013 and needs Relay For Life volunteers to help make this cancer’s last century!
Lori says, “It only takes two people to form a team. Talk to your friends and family. Cancer is something that literally affects everyone. They’ll be immediately onboard.”
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