The hated enemy stretched out its bony fingers and snatched away Tonya Clark’s beloved grandmother when she was just a little girl.
Josephine Adams was Clark’s first great loss.
Now it’s menacing a beloved co-worker — for the second time.
So, is the fight against cancer personal for Clark? You bet it is.
“We are sending cancer on a permanent vacation, that is our goal,” Clark, chairperson of Auburn’s American Cancer Society Relay for Life, said of the event at Memorial Stadium on Friday evening and Saturday morning.
“We are going to have just an amazing amount of fundraising, spirit, celebration, remembering those we lost and having a great time doing it,” said Clark, community involvement director at Sam’s Club.
Opening ceremonies start at 6 p.m. Friday with survivors, caretakers and team laps. The relay starts at 7 p.m. and continues until noon Saturday.
The goal, Clark said, is to raise $155,000 for the fight. As of Wednesday, organizers already had raised nearly $80,000. Auburn, Clark noted, is well known in relay circles for its fundraising efforts.
“There will be lots of different teams coming together, lots of fundraising at the event, lots of walking and supporting our loved ones,” Clark said. “We’ll have a beautiful balloon release for our opening ceremony. We have an amazing DJ lined up, and he’s going to play wonderful music to keep the walkers going.
“Cancer never sleeps, and we shouldn’t either.”
As of Wednesday, 70 teams had signed up to walk, and there is room for more. More than 720 people have pledged to participate, and organizers expect an additional 1,000 to 2,000 souls on the day of the event.
The moving luminaria, or remembrance, ceremony is at 10 p.m. Friday.
“Anybody who would like to come and remember somebody can buy a luminaria at the event for $10, and we will happily put that up for them,” Clark said. “They can collect them the next day, if they want to keep them. But make sure you bring your canned food, because that’s what we use for our luminaria bags. We put the candles on top of the can inside the bag, then all the canned food collected goes to the Auburn Food Bank.
“There will be fun stuff throughout the evening, such as midnight movies, special laps with contests and the next morning we start early with Zumba, the dance craze, exercise revolution. We have the YMCA coming out to do a Zumba for us,” Clark said. “Not too long after that we’ll do our traditional Mr. Relay contest, which is a definite photo opportunity.”
All money raised goes to the American Cancer Society, helping with advocacy, research and providing resources for cancer patients, for example purchasing gas to get someone from appointment to appointment,
“It helps with women’s re-beautification processes after surgery, helps women feel like women again. It all goes to the cause. It’s a great cause, a great organization,” Clark said.
A new feature this year is the Fight Back Ceremony, which challenges participants to give at least one hour of their time a month to the fight. That could mean everything from ensuring that someone gets screened to driving somebody to his or her appointment to becoming a part of ACS legislative network.
For additional information, check out www.auburnrelay.com.
