Hopefully, I will be able to be at the relay for the whole 24 hours! Mum and Dad said I can sleep in a tent with Charlotte! My team are thinking of their team costume and are listing some crazy ways they could do laps. Can you imagine Mum and Dad doing a lap of cartwheels!?
Last night, I went to a meeting for the Relay. I met some of the other Relay people. Most of them knew me. It was very strange. People wanted to come over and meet me, because they had heard my story. My family sometimes forget how incredible my story is... they sometimes forget how amazing my journey has been. They don't realise how many people know about me, follow my story and love me because of what I've been through.
So, Relay for Life...
Mum, Dad, Charlotte and I have already walked a Survivors' Lap in another relay. It was a very emotional time... I think it brings back all of the memories and the emotions we try to keep buried. We'll be walking in the Survivors' Lap at our Relay.
I have taken some information from the Relay For Life website, which has lots of information.
In NSW around 40 000 people take part in Relay For Life - each year! The event is not just about the amazing experience of spending the weekend with people from your local community. It's also about the fun ways your team can raise money in the lead up to the day. Relays are truly amazing occasions where tears are shed, hopes are raised, fun is had and friendships are forged.
Some people do it in memory of a loved who has passed away from cancer. Some people do it to show how proud they are at having survived cancer. Some use it to show they are strong enough to beat cancer. And some just want to be involved and make a difference.
We'll join the Candlelight Ceremony of HOPE at dusk. This is a time to remember everyone we have lost to cancer. The candles are put into paper bags, covered with messages of love and remembrance. We have a few candles that will be burning.
If you'd like Team Love Dexter to make a sign and walk a lap in honour of someone you love, who is fighting cancer, or in honour of someone you loved and lost from cancer, let us know. We will make a sign, walk a lap and take a photo for you. (Maybe you could donate $5 to my team.)
Then, there's a midnight Undies Race! You have to wear undies in this one! I hope Mum lets me stay up so I can watch this one. We don't yet know who is going to be entering this race for our team!
Relay For Life’s journey began in May 1985 when a US surgeon, Dr. Gordy Klatt, wanted to boost the income of his local American Cancer Society office to support all of his cancer patients. He spent 24 hours circling a track in Washington and raised over $27,000 to fight cancer.
Since then, Relay For Life has become the largest fundraising event for cancer in the world. Celebrated in over 600 communities across 21 counties this inspirational overnight event empowers and unites local communities in the battle against cancer.
To sponsor my team in the Relay for Life, go to this page and follow the links. Leave a short message, too. We'll be sure to email you a thank you!
Team Love Dexter -
http://relay.cancercouncil.com.au/2013/kiama_relay_for_life/Love-Dexter
Relay Website Links:
http://relay.cancercouncil.com.au/about/
http://relay.cancercouncil.com.au/about/4