Elmhurst celebrating 25th Relay For Life

Elmhurst's commitment to supporting the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life campaign is reflected in two numbers: 25 years and $4.5 million.

That's how long the city has been participating in the annual fundraiser and how much money its residents have contributed during that time.

Both of those stats will be celebrated at 6 p.m. Friday when the 25th annual relay steps off at York High School, 355 W. St. Charles Road.

The event calls for at least one member of each participating team to walk around the York track throughout the 12-hour relay that will finish at 6 a.m. Saturday.

"Twenty-five years is a huge deal," Relay For Life's Community Development Manager Melanie Lindsay said Thursday. "It's a big accomplishment for a Relay For Life event, so I think just coming back and showing that support and being excited for members ... is why people should come out and see what they've done to the event."

This year's main focus is to thank those who have helped over the years and honor those who are struggling with cancer or have struggled with it in the past.

Lindsay said organizers sent more than 1,000 invitations.

"We're really just trying to thank the people in the community who have been a part of it," she said.

Kati Potaczeck, a 2017 York graduate, will help open the relay. She was diagnosed with IIA Hodgins Lymphoma as a senior and will share her story.

Members of the Mary K. Steffens Foundation also will be on hand. The organization was created in memory of Mary K. Steffens, who died from breast cancer in 2008. She was very involved in Relay For Life and the committee celebrates her contributions with a tent set up specifically for cancer survivors to meet, mingle and relax.

"She liked the support and the enthusiasm and she liked giving back and volunteering," foundation member Leah Gleason said. "When she passed, her family and friends established a foundation in her honor and they continued to do Relay For Life activities."