Relay For Life Success Raises $50k

One of the biggest events in our area towards the end of each school year is the annual Relay for Life, benefiting the American Cancer Society, which once again was a major success in Wesley Chapel.

Held on May 9 at Wiregrass Ranch High (located off Mansfield Blvd.), the Relay for Life of Wesley Chapel/Wiregrass (which used to be two separate events) kept up the tradition of giving to help find a cure for the disease that more than one million people are diagnosed with each year.

This year, the Relay for Life of Wesley Chapel/Wiregrass raised more than $50,000 for cancer research, says Relay senior manager Stephanie Watts.

“While funds still will be collected throughout the summer months, we currently have raised about $50,000,” Watts explains. “We had a wonderful Relay For Life event in the Wesley Chapel/Wiregrass community!”

Watts explains that although only about 400 people (on 40 teams) were registered as participants this year, the ACS staff estimates that between 800-1,000 attended the 18-hour walk.

“We are so proud of all of the volunteers, team members, sponsors, cancer survivors and caregivers who have made this year’s event a very special one,” Watts says.

One of those was Wesley Chapel Rotary member Ron Oldano, who raised $2,000 for ACS by taking pledges for walking 100 laps around the 1/4-mile WwRH track, or 25 miles. “It took me from 6:30 p.m. until 3:30 a.m. to finish,” says Oldano. “It was tough…But I lost a couple of toenails for a very good cause.”

For more info about Relay for Life, please visit Relay.ACSEvents.org.