Relay for Life attendees take part in the "Survivor's Lap" to kick off the May 9 event.
Relay for Life attendees take part in the “Survivor’s Lap” to kick off the May 9 event. (Photo: OurTownFLA.com)

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.

 

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