Canadian Cancer Society receives Hutchens donation
- February 23rd, 2010
- By Sandy and Tanya Hutchens
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Tanya Hutchens contributes to Canadian Cancer Society
The 2010 Relay For Life has stepped into the ring in the fight against cancer and come out swinging.
Saturday night at the Royal Canadian Legion Pembroke branch, the 2010 relay campaign kicked off with an official media and public launch.
Relay team members, sponsors, Canadian Cancer Society supporters, cancer survivors and their families all packed the hall to begin the multi-month fundraising campaign that will culminate with the relay itself on the track at Dundonald Hall at CFB Petawawa on June 4.
It is the single largest fundraising event for the cancer society in the county and after the event this June, it is expected to have raised $3 million during its more than 10-year history. Such was the goal announced during the kickoff by this year’s event chair-ma
n Roger Martin, who has taken over from 2009 chairman Ed Gagnon.
Following opening remarks from Cancer Society staff and Relay For Life organizers and sponsors, past fundraising teams that had reached milestones in terms of dollars raised were acknowledged. After the formalities, it was time to get down to some serious fun with a little murder mystery mayhem courtesy of Those Phantom Knights.
To kick the event off, Dave Henderson of the Canadian Cancer Society Renfrew County Unit, doing his best ring announcer, got the group moti with some rousing cheers.
“Why do we Relay for Life? We Relay For Life to celebrate cancer survivors and to fight back. We Relay For Life to Remember those that have lost their battle with cancer,” he said. “We come as individuals but when we come together we celebrate and remember we have become warriors in the fight against cancer and we’re going to fight back.”
Someone that has fought back and won is this year’s honorary survivor, Danielle Swant. She is 14-years-old and a Grade 9 student at Bishop Smith Catholic High School.
This is the second time that she has been named the honorary survivor. She was also the honorary survivor in 2002 at the tender age of seven.
“It is really nice to have been asked back. The Relay For Life is such a good event, with more and more people every year. It’s fun to meet new people and to get together with old friends and reflect,” Ms. Swant said.