Relay For Life of Elgin seeks participants
Submitted by American Cancer Society
Local volunteers will devote their time, talents and energy over the next several months as they prepare for the inaugural American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Elgin on Friday, Aug. 3 at Prairie Knolls Middle School, 225 Nesler Road in Elgin.
Relay For Life is an overnight event that brings the community together in the fight against cancer to celebrate the lives of those who have cancer, remember those lost to the disease, and fight back against a disease that takes too much. Teams of local businesses, schools, churches, community groups and families raise funds — prior to and at the event — to support cancer research to help find cures and to provide local programs aimed at helping people stay well, get well and fight back.
Volunteers and team captains are needed now to help plan this exciting event.
“You can volunteer pre-event, during or post event. We have all kinds of volunteer needs — from publicity, to accounting, to phone calls — any age can help,” said American Cancer Society staff partner Jay Bastian. “We encourage employees to create teams to come out — it’s great for families, neighbors — Relay is the ultimate bonding experience.”
Relay For Life of Elgin will start with local cancer survivors uniting to walk the first lap of the event. They are then joined by family, friends and co-workers; the caregivers who helped them through their battle with cancer.
Relay For Life helps fund the American Cancer Society’s efforts to advance cancer prevention, treatment, patient services and cures. This includes the Society’s Patient Navigation Services program, designed to fill a critical void in heath care and social services by acting as a full-service navigator to anyone touched by cancer. The services provided by the American Cancer Society include transportation assistance to treatments; discounted lodging at hotels for patients who need to travel to receive care; insurance coverage assistance; resource matching and referrals; and cosmetic help such as free wigs or head wear for patients who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy. The Society also offers cancer information and access to support groups via its call center, accessible any time at (800) 227-2345 and www.IllinoisCancerHelp.org.
For information on how to get involved in Relay For Life of Elgin, contact Jay Bastian at the American Cancer Society at (630) 879-9009, ext. 3 or visit www.relayforlife.org/elginil.