Relay For Life Surpasses Fundraising Goal

As of the closing ceremonies on Saturday morning, the Relay For Life of South Washington County had raised more than $235,862.

The goal this year was $230,000 and the books don’t officially close until Aug. 31. Organizers expect to raise an additional $10,000 to $15,000, said Mara Mayberry, co-chair of the event held over the weekend at in Woodbury.

Mayberry provided Patch with a few figures from the event:

• Top youth team: The Oak-Land Junior High National Junior Honor Society team raised $6,417 (double that of the second-place team.)
• Of the 130 registered teams, 72 were new to the Relay For Life. (Some were second teams added due to size restrictions of 15 members per team, but overall strong growth.)
• Of the 130 registered teams, 62 were youth led teams. (Of those 62, 42 were new to the event.)

The top fundraising teams as of Saturday morning overall were:

• Team Chaos: $12,926 (Returning team captained by Event Chair Bill Sawyer.)
• On a Wing and a Prayer: $12,802 (Returning team representing Guardian Angels Catholic Church, captained by Pat Richter and Kathy Lundquist.)
• Valley Crossing Community School: $7,548 (Returning team captained by Kurt Alpers, a long time Relay participant and teacher at the school.)

"As a planning committee, we are so grateful for the tremendous turnout of the community who visited Relay For Life South Washington County," Mayberry said. "They helped us reach and exceed our fundraising goals."

Donations are still accepted through Aug. 31 for this year’s Relay. Visit www.relayforlife.org/sowashcomn to make a donation.

The Relay For Life raises money for the American Cancer Society. The event began in 1985 when Dr. Gordy Klatt, a surgeon in Tacoma, Wash., ran and walked around a track for 24 hours to raise money for the organization. Each year, more than 3.5 million people in 5,000 communities in the U.S., along with additional communities in 20 other countries, gather to take part in the event.

For more information on next year's event, contact Mayberry at maramayberry@comcast.net.

For photos from the event, click here.

For video from the event, click here.

For more Patch coverage of the local Relay For Life, click here.