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Sophia Aldous
NEWPORT – The annual Pend Oreille Valley Relay for Life (RFL) celebration, commemoration and fundraiser is back for its 20th anniversary Friday-Saturday, Aug.
8-9 on the football field at Newport High School.
The event helps raise money for the American Cancer Society and honors those who have died from cancer, those who have survived it, and those who are currently battling the disease.
There will be a dinner for cancer survivors Friday, Aug. 8 at 5 p.m. at the Newport High School cafeteria. Survivors and a caretaker are welcome to the free dinner prior to heading to Ellersick Field for the main event.
Relay starts with an opening ceremony at 6:30 p.m. and goes all night long until 6:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 9.
The opening ceremonies include special speakers, a ribbon cutting, awards, survivor and caregiver laps around the track, followed by team laps.
Throughout the event there will be games and activities for all ages, including a silent auction and several drawings that include prizes like homemade quilts and local beef. There will also be concessions for sale and free pizza and pie.
There will also be a frozen t-shirt contest, newspaper fashion show and themed laps around the track.
Individuals and teams will be walking around the track to continue to raise money and awareness for cancer research, treatment and survivors. The luminary event where candles are lit and names of those passed on from cancer are read aloud will begin at 9:30 p.m. The Relay Back to School Backpack Challenge will also be going on, where kids will be given a bag to collect school supplies in. Team sites will have games to play and children can pick out the supplies they want at each stop. Other latenight activities include bingo, a cake walk and more giveaways. The All For The Cure team hosts the Relay store where participants can purchase RFL merch.
“We invite everyone to join our community,” RFL organizer Katie LaVille says. “Our vision is to end cancer as we know it, for everyone.”
According to the Pend Oreille Valley RFL website, this year’s fundraising goal is $10,000. As of newspaper deadline, the amount raised was over $5,498. There are currently 16 teams signed up for this year’s RFL, but teams can be formed any time leading up to the event, whether it’s family, a group of friends, businesses, churches or non-profit organizations.
“COVID-19 has put cancer patients at risk, attacking already weakened immune systems, delaying cancer treatments, and closing many clinical trials,” says the web page for Hope Hikers, the top fundraising team so far for this year’s RFL.
“Because of the impact cancer has had on our lives, we are doing something about it. We joined Relay For Life to remember people we’ve lost and offer up support to anyone in our community who is affected by cancer.”
The top three participants who have raised the most money so far for this year’s event are Linda Everett at $1,200, Katie LaVille at $854 and Carolyn Sherman at $400.
For more information on how to form a team, volunteer, donate or what the American Cancer Society does, go to www. secure.acsevents.org/ site/STR?pg=entry&fr_id=110092 or search Pend Oreille Valley Relay for Life on Facebook.
Event organizer Katie LaVille can be reached at [email protected] or by calling 509-6711752.
SOPHIA MATTICE-ALDOUS IS A MURROW NEWS FELLOW WORKING DIRECTLY WITH NEWSROOMS AT THE NEWPORT MINER AND RANGE MEDIA THROUGH A PROGRAM ADMINISTERED BY WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY. HER REPORTING IS AVAILABLE FOR USE VIA CREATIVE COMMONS WITH CREDIT.
