Community Corner
Relay for Life Raises $68,000+ This Weekend
Organizers say they are thrilled with the turnout to the 24-hour event, held this past weekend at the Beaumont Sports Park.
Some 1,500 to 2,000 people are estimated to have headed out to the Beaumont Sports Park this weekend in support of the annual Relay for Life event, raising more than $60,000 for the American Cancer Society.
Of those in attendance—more than 200 cancer survivors showed up to kick off the initial lap around the track; laps which were then carried on continuously for the next 24 hours as 39 teams alternated members in and out of the circuit.
Cancer survivors like 86-year-old WWII Veteran Roman Dominguez, who was just was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the last couple of weeks, were decked out in purple shirts as a sign of solidarity in the fight against cancer.
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"As I heard the news I was saddened, however, when I heard Roman's response to the doctor's diagnoses, I was inspired by his words...I am going to fight! A man who survived the POW camps and WWII, now has another battle in front of him...fighting cancer," Beaumont School Member Mark Orozco—who showed up to Relay to walk with Dominguez—said before the event, in a press release.
Event chairs Siobhan Lopez and Mayda Cox told Banning-Beaumont Patch that they were thrilled with the turnout and community involvement this year.
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“It was great,” Lopez said right after completing the final lap around the track Sunday morning. “We had quite a bit of community support this year. We brought on about 25 new sponsors, which is huge for us.”
As of the most recent count of funds raised, more than $68,000 had poured in by Sunday, Lopez said.
Cox and Lopez said that even though they were on a 40-hour stretch with no sleep, the event was well worth it.
“If you keep moving, you don’t have time [to get too tired],” Lopez said.
“If you stop; you’re done,” Cox added on with a laugh.
“We are going to continue to be out here, continue fighting, and continue until we find a cure,” Lopez said, adding that planning for next year’s 10th annual event starts in just over a month.
To date, the event here in the San Gorgonio Pass has raised more than $1 million.
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