Hollister
– The city’s Relay for Life fundraising season got off to a
colorful start this week, as volunteers festooned downtown with
purple ribbons and balloons.
Hollister – The city’s Relay for Life fundraising season got off to a colorful start this week, as volunteers festooned downtown with purple ribbons and balloons.
The actual event is still several months off, but Relay for Life co-chairwoman Carol Tortorelli said organizers want to get everyone thinking about the annual fundraiser for cancer research.
Between now and August, volunteers will be looking for donations. On the big day, participating teams will do their best to keep one member walking around the high school’s track during the entire 24-hour relay.
According to co-chairwoman Carol Johnson, Hollister’s Relay for Life brought in about $220,000 last year. This year, Tortorelli said, organizers are aiming for $245,000.
“It’s more than what we got last year, but it’s extremely attainable,” she said.
This year’s event, scheduled for Aug. 3 and 4, will be the city’s ninth annual Relay for Life.
Johnson, who also organized Hollister’s first relay, said the local fundraiser has taken some big steps forward in the past decade. The first planned relay was actually canceled because Johnson couldn’t raise enough interest.
“It’s hard to explain what Relay for Life is,” she said.
However, Johnson kept spreading the word, and the next year she managed to attract 15 teams and raise about $30,000.
Johnson said she was first inspired to get involved when her son’s best friend died from leukemia at age 13. Tortorelli said her involvement also comes from personal experience – she survived a battle with breast cancer five years ago.
“The first year I heard about it, I was too weak to participate,” she said. “But the year after that, I felt like I had to help, because I felt so lucky to have survived.”
Tortorelli said this year’s event will recognize Relay for Life’s transformation into a worldwide phenomenon. The relay’s theme will be “Around the World in 80 Laps” and each team will be asked to choose a country and come to the event dressed accordingly.
But one country is off the list – three teams have already chosen Mexico as their theme, Tortorelli said, so the remaining participants will have to get a little more creative.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or ah*@fr***********.com.
