“Celebrate, Remember, Fight Back,” states the motto for the American Cancer Society’s 25th annual Relay for Life fundraiser. As a region of the South Atlantic Division, Southwest Virginia has multiple teams you can join to participate in this year’s Relay for Life events.

One way to get involved is through a college sponsoring an event on their campus. In fact, the Atlantic Coast Conference has raised the most money out of all the collegiate athletic divisions, with $409,700 already collected. Virginia Tech’s Relay for Life event takes place April 24, 2008 at the Johnston-Miller Track and Field, and all are welcome to participate.

Colleges aren’t the only way to get involved – many communities sponsor their own events at local high schools or community centers, including Montgomery County, Giles County, Pulaski County, Stuart County, Franklin County and more. To find the event closest to you, use the Relay for Life search map.

According to the Bland County Messenger, teams have already started preparing for the Bland County Relay for Life despite not even having a date confirmed. The final date will depend on how many more snow days occur, which could delay graduation and interfere with the event. According to the Bland County Relay for Life chairman, April Dutton, there is still plenty of time to sign up a team. “Even if a team doesn’t want to walk, it can still raise the money,” said Dutton. After several years of originally being paired up with Wythe County, this marks Bland County’s fifth anniversary.

Last year I participated in the Relay for Life event at Virginia Tech, and it was one of the best experiences I have been a part of in my college career. I walked in honor of both a friend and an aunt, and it gave my friends and family a good cause to donate money to. While many elect to run during the event, you can tailor it to your own physical fitness and run or walk for all or part of the event. Plenty of food and fun is to be had, which makes the night fly by. I now look forward to participating in Virginia Tech’s event this year as a recent graduate.

-Kristina Ticknor

Tags: Giles County, Montgomery County, Pulaski County, Relay for Life

This entry was posted on Friday, March 20th, 2009 at 11:23 am and is filed under General, Giles County, Montgomery County, Pulaski County, SWVA Lifestyle. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.