Relay for Life honors cancer victims, survivors

Fadia Nader and her son, Matthew Eadie, honor her parents during the luminaria ceremony at Westlake’s Relay for Life on July 13.

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All the begging and pleading is over and it was all well worth it. Westlake's Relay for Life on July 13 was a great success and many were there to share in the moment. Now that the tents are down, the games packed up and the money totaled, we reached our goal. With the help of our teams, volunteers and many visitors we were able to raise $15,692.97 that evening. When added to our earlier fundraising efforts during the year, we hit the American Red Cross goal of $30,000.

This year's teams had great ideas to raise money with a raffle, silent auction, photo booth, popcorn machine, concession stand and many fun games. The track was lit by overhead rented lights and the Westlake Police were in full force to make sure the safety of our participants was always most important. 

Our team, Bill’s Buddies, earned $1,906 that night to donate. That brought our total to over $10,000 and we couldn’t be happier to help the next person with their struggle to beat this disease. My dad was there to take his laps and help in the crusade of the ACS.

We have until Aug. 31 to finish out this fundraising year, and on Oct. 1 we will start all over and try to make next year even better. We have a new American Cancer Society rep, Holly Sajna, who will help us to grow and improve. I will be chairperson for the event and will be sure to have a full committee next year to get the job done.

I am honored that the ACS has asked me to chair and I will treat it with all the respect it deserves. If you are interested in being part of the committee next year, please feel free to call me at 440-666-0662. Help us make the event even better by raising funds for more birthdays.

If you missed this year, please consider coming next year. If you have never seen the Luminaria lap, it is a sight to behold. All participants were able to light the Luminaria by taking the candle out of the bag, saying the name of the person on the bag and then replacing the candle. Then a bagpiper led the lap while playing "Amazing Grace." Tears were all around but many of them happy tears. Tears for survivors and their families.

Thank you to everyone who volunteered, walked and donated. And a great big thank you to Tara and Denny Wendell for all their help.

Now go and enjoy the rest of summer, take a break from Relay articles but be ready again in October to see us every once in a while to remind you of the upcoming event next year. Love and prayers until then.