We Relay Once Again
It's nearly upon us - our second year doing Relay For
Life to help raise funds to fight cancer with the American Cancer Society. I
know you've been hearing from us in these past few weeks about the Relay, but
reinforcing how important this event is can't happen too often.
Personally I would like to thank everyone who has
contributed and those of you who are planning to come out and walk with
us. As a two year cancer survivor I am
heartened by your support. Rotary accomplishes many things, not the least of
them raising money for causes like this one. I am proud that we support so many
fine community projects and even extend our efforts to aid for foreign
countries. Who would think that a few people from a small area on the Central
Coast of California could accomplish so much?
But I will go on record as saying that raising funds
to find a cure for cancer is, in my opinion, the most important thing we do.
There are so many horrible physical ailments that can happen to a person that
it is difficult to single out just one as the worst. I think cancer is the
worst. Not because I am a victim of it,
but because it impacts such a vast array of the human population in more than
one way. Obviously having a cancer diagnosis is a terrible blow, but consider
too the effect that such a diagnosis has upon the people in one's family, their
co-workers, their friends, and sometimes even people who are unknown to us but
do in some way have a connection. Once the words "it's cancer" are said,
everyone's life changes irrevocably in a direction it was never intended to go.
I often ponder in my own life, where life would have
taken me had cancer not entered the picture for me when I was just nine years
old. That year my Dad was diagnosed with colon/rectal cancer. Everything
changed from that moment on. Few treatments other than surgery were available
then so in 10 months he passed away. I wonder where I would be now, what I
would have done differently, whose lives I would have touched if he had not
died and I had been blessed with his guidance and love for more than nine years
of my life. Never in my imagination did I even entertain the thought that one
day I too would be a cancer victim.
Our Rotary has built houses in Sri Lanka, funded
scholarships for students, helped Camp Hapitok, given aid to many community
groups, and now this fund raising effort may just supply the monies that
support one researcher who will be the person to find the clue to the answer to
cancer. This is why we participate in Relay.
Our goals with the Morro Bay Relay this year were
for 25 teams to walk the Relay track, 35 survivors to walk the survivor lap,
and to raise $25,000. As of 8-3-10, we have 20 teams, 41 survivors, more than
133 walkers, and more than $17,000 raised. Morro Bay Rotary has been
significant in this effort. There is still time to join the team and to donate.
Donations to this Relay can continue until August 31st through the
web site
www.relayforlife.org/morrobayca
and by going to Teams and finding Morro Bay Rotary.