In case you dont get the Kenosha News, please take a moment to read about the recent Relay for Life event. My friend Jamie is quoted extensively! :) Storms couldn’t dampen Relay’s spirit Rain, lightning rushed participants into shelter BY DIANE GILES dgiles@kenoshanews Friday night’s rain soaked the dreams of topping Saturday morning’s goals at the Kenosha Relay for Life, but it aided in bringing out more people to the closing ceremony. Just as the event was getting into stride about 7:30 p.m. Friday, organizers evacuated the site at the University of Wisconsin Parkside outdoor track because of lightning. Participants took shelter in the university’s nearby Sports and Activity Center for nearly two hours. “We try to plan for everything and Parkside was gracious enough to open up the fieldhouse for us,” Susan Jenewein, an event co-chair, said. One of the more poignant moments for Jenewein took place when everyone got inside and without any instruction, participants began walking the fieldhouse track. “I became pretty emotional then,” Jenewein said. “Rain or shine, their dedication was pretty impressive. They understood the reason they were out here.” Teams combined Relay for Life is the localized event held around the country that celebrates the lives of people who have battled cancer and raises funds for the American Cancer Society. At Saturday’s closing ceremonies it was announced that the event had raised $264,966 thus far, slightly down from last year’s totals. Jenewein reported there were 957 participants on 83 teams. That’s about the same number of participants as last year, but fewer teams were involved after combining a large number of smaller teams. Jenewein, a 10-year Relay veteran, and long-time participant Jamie Cairo both noted the closing ceremony was attended by more people than they had ever seen before, doubling other years. Cairo walked with the Soul Sisters and a Brother team, comprised of workers at Aurora Cancer Care, who raised more than $2,000. “It was unfortunate that the rain hit at the peak time for everybody to be walking and buying things,” said Cairo as she watched raffle tickets being pulled for the baskets at the team table. After the rain, Cairo found that her tent was soggy, so she went home and came back minutes after sunrise. Purple means survival Because they are cancer caregivers, seeing their patients in the survivor walk is very powerful, Cairo explained. “And my emotional highpoint was seeing our coworker walk in the survivor walk,” Cairo said, nodding to her friend, Dawn Shupe. “That took it to a whole new level.” “We’ve been doing this for seven, eight years and never do you think that you’re going to be in a purple shirt, walking around the track while everyone else is in a white shirt,” Shupe admitted. “And that was an emotional thing for me to put that purple shirt on.” Overnight United Hospital Team member Marysa Cartagena pulled up stakes on her tent after the closing ceremony. “There were a lot more tents here before it rained,” she said. Cartagena, who did the Relay for the third straight year, walked for her sister, cancer survivor Laurie Benson. She said last year her team raised $8,000 and thinks they’ll top that by continuing to collect money in coming weeks. “We do expect quite a bit of money to come in between now and Aug. 31. That usually is the case,” Jenewein said. Those wishing to contribute to this year’s effort can still do so before Aug. 31 by visiting relayforlife.org and searching for the Relay For Life of Kenosha event.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 17:05:47 +0000