by Karolyn Dang on 2014-05-21
With 67 teams, roughly 1,600 participants gathered at Colton High School this past Saturday for the Relay for Life of Colton.
This year marked the 10-year anniversary of the event. With the support of thousands of volunteers ranging from cancer survivors to caregivers, the American Cancer Society hosted the event without a hitch.
The goal of the Relay For Life movement is to offer an inspiring opportunity to honor cancer survivors, educate individuals on ways to reduce their cancer risk, and raise money to find a cure.
This year, the Relay for Life of Colton started a wellness program called Active for Life. The program was designed to promote healthy living by increasing physical activity and healthy eating among other beneficial behaviors. Participants were allowed to participate as individuals or as teams. To win a special prize, teams competed based on size.
Teams with 1-19 participants are required to have 50% of their team participating in the program while teams with 20-49 members were only required 25% participation. Teams with 50 or more team members need 10%.
The opening ceremony kicked off Saturday morning at 9 a.m., then going straight into the Survivors Lap. Upbeat music flooded across the Colton High School campus as cancer survivors took the first lap around the track as other participants cheered them on from the side lines.
Local resident Darlene Petersen, who has battled colon cancer and is currently in remission, made the most out of the Luminaria Ceremony, taking it as an opportunity to honor those that have passed, those that have survived and those who are still fighting.
Petersen wrote several names on her luminaria bag including Colton Christian Church’s former pastor, Tom Harvick who passed away from leukemia; Linda Stovall, the church secretary, who succumbed to brain cancer; and Sharon Haughney, the worship organ player, who lost her battle to stomach cancer. Petersen also included Bob North and Sarah Amenta, who are now receiving treatment for various types of cancer; her sister, Mary Lou Minich, who is in remission from leukemia; and Ann Conley who has fought through multiple forms of cancer. This ceremony provides an opportunity for people to work through their grief and find hope in those standing beside them.
Relay For Life teams camped out overnight and took turns walking or running around the track. To promote “cancer never sleeps” each team was asked to have at least one participant on the track at all times during the 24-hour relay.
The following morning, The Fight Back Ceremony commenced to symbolize the emotional commitment everyone makes to the fight against cancer. The event concluded with the Closing Ceremony at 9 a.m. on Sunday by remembering all of the lives that were lost and celebrating the commitment of all participants.
This year’s Relay For Life of Colton raised over $82,000. Team Unforgettable shared a few words about their experience on their Facebook page, “To every member of every team, to every survivor anywhere, to every loved one that has ever been lost to cancer. It was our honor to walk with you, in support of you and in memory of you. We are proud to be only one of 67 teams of the Colton Relay for Life. As a community, we have raised over $82,000 in an effort to support one cause. One community, working as one team looking for one result. Cancer is a word, not a sentence. Until next year...”
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Below please see the two stories run on Colton Relay for Life 2013.
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STORY: Colton Relay for Life Paint the Town Purple
BYLINE: Breeanna Jent
PHOTOS BY: Kimberly Ramirez
photo #1 From left: (top row) Kimberly, Guillermo, Rebecca, Destiny, Margaret, Rosy, Diana, Vanessa, Brianna, Alfredo, Christopher, Veronica. (Bottom row): Rico, Kristy, Lula, Kayla, Jessica
photo #3 & 6—(from left)Kristy, Alfredo, Rico, Christopher, Veronica, Brianna
Rosy, Kimberly, Destiny
Photo #4—(from left) Destiny & Kimberly
Photo #5 &10-- team member's home.
photo #7-- Destiny
photo #12—(from left) Rico, Kristy, Vanessa, Rebecca, Guillermo
nov 2012: here's a pic of my sister, dad & I
TITLE: City Draped in Purple for Cancer Awareness
WORD COUNT: 448
ARTICLE:
If you’ve seen purple ribbons strewn around town, it’s possible you’ve wondered where they come from and what they represent.
In an effort to raise awareness of the fight against cancer and Colton’s Relay for Life, coming up May 18, Colton-based Relay for Life teams have painted the town purple, as they describe it.
With purple signs strewn on city-owned signs, the campaign’s mission is to make residents aware that “cancer doesn’t discriminate at all, by any means,” said Kimberly Ramirez, a Colton native and team captain of the Relay for Life’s Hearts of Gold team, which has participated in the city’s Relay for Life event for the past four years.
“We really want to let the rest of the community know about what they can do to advocate (cancer research) and raise funds for cancer patients,” said Ramirez, who worked alongside her teammates—which include 24 members ranging in age from six to 67, many of whom are her family members—last Wednesday to display the ribbons.
Ramirez joined the Relay for Life, begun in the 1980s by Dr. Gordy Klatt, a Tacoma-based colorectal surgeon, in order to help make what she saw as a proactive difference after experiencing the death of a cousin to stomach cancer and her father’s diagnosis—and eventually his remission—of prostate cancer seven years ago.
“Before, I would donate to the American Cancer Society, but I always thought there had to be something else I could be a part of,” she said. After researching prostate cancer walks she could participate in, Ramirez stumbled upon the Relay for Life, of which she’s been a part ever since in the mission to combat cancer and raise awareness for cancer patients and their families about the resources available to them.
“I’m a nurse so I know where to go, but there are a lot of families out there who don’t. I want to be a part of something, because I don’t want any other daughter to go through that,” Ramirez said of her experience with her father’s diagnosis. “It’s so important that families know that there are so many resources out there. Colton is a really tight community, and we’re trying our best to promote this [knowledge].”
In the Relay, teams take turns walking the track for a total of 24 hours, to represent the fact that “cancer never sleeps,” said Ramirez. Relay events also feature speaking opportunities for cancer survivors, cancer patients and caretakers.
Colton’s Relay for Life walk will kick off on May 18 at 9 p.m. at Colton High School, and will run through 9 p.m. on May 19.
Colton High School is located at 777 West Valley Boulevard in Colton.
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Picture caption: Jesus Villarruel of Colton with his daughter Marianna and wife Monica from the 2013 Colton Relay for Life Team ‘Striking Out Cancer’
Colton Relay for Life
It was the first year in attendance at this year’s Colton Relay for Life for 33-year-old Colton resident Jesus Villarruel.
Representing his team as the Survivor, he stood proudly with his wife Monica (who was the team captain) and daughter Marianna as he talked about the reason for being at the Relay this year.
“Basically, I had injured my knee while playing baseball. But I kept ignoring the injury. Finally, I couldn’t take the pain anymore, so I went to the doctor. It was as the result of that checkup that the cancer was found. My diagnosis came in April of 2012. So, this is my first time here.”
Villarruel’s team was walking in honor of him as their survivor, and for his brother-in-law Darcipio Gonzalez who passed away from leukemia at the age of 27.
The team was appropriately named ‘Striking Out Cancer’. As Villarruel’s sister Erica explained, “We decided to call the team that because of the passion that he and his brother-in-law had for baseball, especially the Dodgers.”
Team captain Monica Villarruel shared her heart. “This is our first time at the Relay, and to be honest with you, it’s very, very special for us. Cancer is new in our family. We lost our brother-in-law to leukemia and it is wonderful to come here to find the strong support system in place. It’s therapy for us, it’s emotional and it’s helping us all to heal.” She shared that their team of 63 members had raised about $1300. “It’s amazing to be here. Nobody knows what it’s like until you’re in that situation. It’s nice to see the community come together, all for the same reason, to get rid of cancer.”
Last Saturday and Sunday the annual Colton Relay for Life was held as a birthday celebration in honor of the one million Americans diagnosed with cancer each year. The 2013 commemoration of this event, held at the Colton High School Football Stadium, was one of the biggest, brightest bashes you would ever want to see. To put it in the words of Frank Ibarra, Vice President of the Colton Joint Unified School District, “One thing I can tell you, in all my years in Colton, I know that nobody does it better!”
It was a year in the making, with twelve committees meeting each month to ensure the 24-hour event would run without a hitch while providing the right opportunities to meet the goals of the Relay for Life’s mission: to honor cancer survivors, to remember those who have been lost to the disease, and to raise funds and awareness to help end cancer forever.
Paula Flores, the 2013 Relay for Life Event Chairperson, was thrilled to share that a total of 54 teams had participated in this year’s event. At last count, it was projected that the Colton teams had raised over $90,000 for the American Cancer Society (ACS).
“This event really reflects the heart of Colton,” said Flores. “The majority of the teams are made up of Colton families and friends of people who have suffered from cancer. We have no funding coming in from major corporations, yet through these families who reach out to others in their community, the Colton Relay for Life is a major contributor to ACS in Southern California.”
With a packed schedule that begins at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning, and ends with the Final Lap at 9 a.m. on Sunday morning, the Relay is a 24-hour event that starts with a Survivors’ walk around the track. Dressed in purple T-shirts, those who have beaten the disease are honored as they make their way around the track. Cheers erupt as they walk by in celebration of this date, a birthday of sorts, after their victory over cancer.
After a day full of hourly themed laps, a Sheriff’s Department helicopter fly-by and plenty of good music, food, laughter and joy, about 5,000 people came to the evening luminaria presentation.
The stadium is darkened, and in the pitch blackness each participant is encouraged to light his or her glow stick in honor of the person they are there to remember. Little by little, the entire stadium glows with differently colored lights and the crowd makes its way to the surrounding track to walk in silence past the hundreds of lighted luminarias that have been decorated and stand shining in remembrance of someone who has been affected by this terrible disease.
Adrienne “Minnie” Gracia is the focus of the Team ‘Minnie’s Heroes’, she has fought her cancer fight for the past 15 years. In hushed tones she shared, “I’m in 4th stage breast cancer right now.” Sighing, she adds, “There isn’t a 5th stage.”
After a moment of silence, a big grin comes over her face and she says, “For me, this Relay is like a reunion once a year. We know that every third week in May, we get to come to this stadium here at Colton High School and see our friends, find love and support, and get the strength to go on.” She leans over to give a hug. “I’ll see you next year.”
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