The 2022 Mingara Relay For Life, held on November 12-13, raised more than $100,000 for Cancer Council.
Fifty-three teams made up of more than 550 participants spent 17 hours walking or running around the circuit at Mingara Regional Athletics Centre to celebrate cancer survivorship, remember loved ones lost and fight back against cancer, raising $104,765 along the way.
The community fundraising event saw friends, families and colleagues raise money in the lead up to the overnight event with team members taking turns walking around the track to signify that cancer never rests, so neither do we.
The sun was shining to celebrate the event’s 22nd year.
With one in two Australians diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, Committee Chair Ray Davidson welcomed the success.
“Relay for Life was initially important to me to honour and remember a family member who succumbed to cancer,” he said.
“It was then to raise awareness and funds for research and then it was important for me as someone who was diagnosed with cancer to be around others who were also going through what I was.”
Every dollar raised will go towards funding Cancer Council’s vital research, prevention, and support programs, many of which help locals like Davidson.
Underpinned by research, local lives have been saved by improvements in cancer prevention, screening, and treatment over the past 20 years.
But statistics still show an estimated 134,000 new cases of cancer are expected to be diagnosed in Australia this year.
Plans for Relay For Life 2023 are already underway and Cancer Council is encouraging Coasties to be part of the movement.
Details at www.relayforlife.org.au.
Source:
Media release, Nov 23
Mingara Relay for Life