The Canadian Cancer Society is celebrating 25 years of the Coquitlam Relay for Life by telling people's stories.
Starting today, Wednesday, May 11, the Canadian Cancer Society, B.C. and Yukon Division is recognizing the 25th anniversary of the Coquitlam Relay for Life with a 25-day social media campaign. Visit Facebook Twitter and Instagram for stories and video of all the people, organizations and businesses who have helped make the important fundraising event a success.
"We're supposed to be there for each other," Ruth Nance, Relay for Life volunteer
And it picked an exceptional storyteller in Ruth Nance to talk to The Tri-City News because the Port Coquitlam grandmother doesn't have just one story to tell — she has several.
She has survivor stories — such as her own brush with cervical cancer and how it was a routine checkup that caught the disease early so it was easily fixed — and she has stories of grief and loss that bring her to tears.
But the story she most wants to tell is how helping others enriched her own life, and she wants others to feel the same.
"We're supposed to be there for each other," Nance says. "I've met some of the most amazing people through volunteering for this."
"This" is the Relay for Life, and as she has for the past few years, Nance will put on her special t-shirt and head to Percy Perry Stadium on Saturday, June 4 to help. This year, she'll lend a hand with the children's activities she has helped organize, and she promises a fun-filled-day for every age, from toddler to teen.
For Nance, who credits her own cancer survival with research paid for partly by donations to the Canadian Cancer Society, the Coquitlam Relay for Life is not just a community gathering but a celebration of life.
In fact, over 25 years, the Coquitlam Relay for life has raised more than $8 million, no small sum when you think about, and in a few weeks the tradition continues.
A FUN EVENT
On Saturday, June 4, the Coquitlam Relay for Life will take place at Percy Perry Stadium. The fundraiser kicks off at 10 a.m., when RCMP officers wearing red serge will march in with the honorary silver 25th anniversary baton.
The event runs until 10 p.m., with live entertainment, children's activities, Zumba sessions, nutritionists, a silent auction, food trucks and vendors. Participants will have an area where they can store their belongings and hang out for the event.
There will also be special ceremonies and a time to remember cancer survivors and loved ones who have died.
On that day, more than a thousand people will come together in teams to pass the baton to one another over a 12-hour stretch to raise more than $300,000 for research and programs, such as Camp Goodtimes.
At Goodtimes, Nance was a "nook," a kind of gofer, and she saw first-hand how the recreational experience for children with cancer and their families can turn people's lives around.
"It really helps kids comes out of their shell," she said.
HELPING OTHERS
She knows what it's like to feel alone and vulnerable after a couple of car accidents and her cancer surgery knocked her off her feet. Then there were the close friends and family members who were touched by the disease.
But through it all, Nance kept volunteering, starting as a presenter on cancer prevention to her job today as a member of the Relay for Life leadership team.
Now, she wants people to know that they are stronger when they come together, through volunteering and contributing.
"We're not supposed to be for ourselves," she says, "Get involved, whether it's with the Relay, donating, supporting or volunteering. Just come together."
To get involved or find out more, visit here.
