Tuesday, January 26, 2010

From the Desk of the GM - January 26, 2010

“Relay for Life – The Sequel”


Last May, the Goldeyes committed to hosting the annual Relay for Life event at Canwest Park. Well, apparently it went well enough (besides a few tents blowing into the stands) that they asked if they could host it here again. As was the case last year, the answer was a very easy and resounding “Yes”! This year’s event will be held on Friday, May 28 from 7 p.m. through to the next morning at 7.

According to Kathy Joshua from the Relay for Life volunteer committee, the event has more than 1,500 participants, volunteers and survivors. The event is expected to raise $375,000 which when added to the money raised over the last nine years will put the total at more than $2 million!

Please click here to visit the Relay for Life website.

At this website you can get involved by:
• Registering a team for the relay
• Joining survivor’s victory lap
• Volunteering

Or, you can show your support by:
• Pledging a participant
• Buying a luminary
• Making a donation

A few weeks ago, the Goldeyes office received a very nice email from Lori Friesen, a participant in last year’s Relay for Life. She was kind enought to allow us to reprint it here:

“I just wanted to send an email to express my gratitude for once again offering your amazing ballpark to host the Relay For Life. I meant to send an email last year right after the event and unfortunately neglected to do so. The whole event was so well laid out and had a very intimate feel to it, as compared to the previous year’s wide open location. The view of downtown throughout the night was spectacular and just what I needed as I made my umpteenth lap around the track. Real bathrooms are such an extravagance after three years of porta-potties (two years with the Weekend to End Breast Cancer and 1 year with the Relay for Life). Access to the restaurants is also a treat and I believe that having the event in downtown Winnipeg goes a long way in raising the profile (and hopefully participation) of the event.

I know your organization does a lot to sponsor community events and this does not go unrecognized – “Thank You”!!!

Lori Friesen
Bodacious Babes
Winnipeg Relay For Life


And now, as promised in my last blog, here is the top ten of the day.
Today’s Top Ten is brought to us by Wendy Elias-Lopez from the Relay for Life volunteer committee.

Top 10 reasons for participating in Relay For Life:

10) It supports ALL types of cancers. There are over 200 types.
9) Because we want to beat cancer.
8) Remember loved ones lost to cancer by coming to light a luminary or walking in their honour.
7) It’s a family event for all ages. Bring your family, friends, co-workers, neighbours etc.
6) Because it’s fun! Karaoke, Bingo, themed laps, and costumes contests are all activities that have been done in the past. Come find out what’s in store for this year!
5) Celebrate a cancer survivor you know.
4) It shows those in the process of fighting cancer that they are not alone in the fight.
3) When else will you get an opportunity to camp out on the Goldeyes outfield?!
2) Because an estimated 6,000 Manitobans will be diagnosed with cancer this year. 2,800 of those will not survive. It could be your mother, your brother, your daughter, your grandpa...
1) Because cancer never sleeps...so for one night, neither will we.

Here is some more info provided by Wendy:

Registration is now open online
E-mail us at winnipegrelayforlife@mb.cancer.ca or phone us at (204) 798-0884
Check out our blog.

Thanks Wendy, Kathy, Lori and everyone else involved in the Relay for Life, and thanks to anyone doing their part to eradicate the world of this terrible disease.

Until next time...

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