By: Kelly Bondurant, Freelance Writer/Editor for Hire
The 2018 Relay for Life Survivor Dinner will be held at South Henderson Pentecostal Holiness Church at 905 Americal Road in Henderson on Friday, April 20.
The evening of dinner and entertainment is free of charge to the area’s cancer survivors and one family member of their choice.
The dinner, sponsored by Maria Parham Health, begins at 6 p.m. and requires advance registration. Participants must RSVP to the American Cancer Society by Tuesday, April 10.
According to Hope Breedlove, co-chair of the Relay’s Cancer Survivor Committee, the registration process has slightly changed from previous years.
“This year’s registration process only requires a simple phone call to the American Cancer Society in Raleigh,” said Breedlove. “Sue will answer the phone or you can leave a message. She needs to know three things – your name, if you’ll bring a guest and your t-shirt size.”
To register for the dinner, participants should call the American Cancer Society at (919) 334-5221. As Breedlove explained on Monday’s Town Talk, if there is no answer, callers should leave a detailed message.
Participants may also email Sue.Cain@cancer.org to RSVP.
Survivors will receive a free Relay t-shirt at the dinner along with more detailed information concerning this year’s Relay event.
Caregivers and community members will have an opportunity to purchase a t-shirt from Relay teams over the next few months. As Breedlove explained, money raised from t-shirt sells is a large part of the fundraiser for cancer research.
“I encourage all survivors to join us,” Breedlove said. “We have a really fun time at this dinner and it gives us volunteers an opportunity to honor our local cancer survivors.”
This year’s Vance County Relay for Life will be held Saturday, June 23, 2018, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. in downtown Henderson. Specifically, the event will be held in the square between the H. Leslie Perry Memorial Library and the Henderson Police Department.
This is a change in location from previous years when the event was held at Southern Vance High School.
The opening ceremony will begin promptly at 11 a.m. on June 23. Cancer survivors will walk the first lap shortly after the opening ceremony concludes at approximately 11:30 a.m. with the caregiver’s recognition to follow.
As in years past, a tent will be set up for survivors to gather for fellowship, snacks and to wait for the ceremony to begin.
A new registration process will be used for this year’s Relay event. Survivors, caregivers and walkers may register for Relay for Life online at www.RelayForLife.org/VanceNC or by calling 1-800-227-2345 and choosing option number two from the menu.
Exclusively for survivors, an on-site registration will be held at the survivor dinner and at Relay for Life. The majority of survivors will only need to verify their contact information and sign the event waiver.
According to Breedlove, the entire committee is looking forward to the Relay event and are “excited to have this time to honor our local cancer survivors.”