Comstock Park, Michigan — June 13, 2012 — All spring, people in Wexford County have been gathering pledges for this year’s Relay For Life, part of the nationwide campaign organized by the American Cancer Society. This year, the organizers of the Cadillac Relay came up with an idea to fight hunger even as they march against cancer.At dusk, participants in the relay will light luminaria and place them around the walking track, but instead of weighing them down with bags of sand as they have in past years, they’ll be using cans of food. After the Relay, the cans will be donated to the Cadillac branch of Feeding America West Michigan Food Bank.Over 400 people took part in Relay For Life of Wexford County in 2011. So far, participants have raised $10,770 for the American Cancer Society, according to the event website, and organizers hope to collect 1,000 cans for families struggling with hunger. “It’s a win-win situation for everybody,” said Laura Porter-Kelly, manager of Feeding America West Michigan’s Cadillac branch.Stacia Thompson, community representative for the American Cancer Society’s Great Lakes Division, sees a future for Wexford County’s new approach. “I hope we’re starting something that can continue on for a very long time,” she said.Canned goods may be dropped off at Cadillac High School’s Veteran’s Memorial Stadium beginning at 12 p.m. on Friday, June 22. The relay runs for 24 hours, from noon on Friday, June 22, to noon on Saturday.About the American Cancer Society.
The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.8 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, almost 12 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us any time, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.About Feeding America West Michigan Food Bank.
One of the nation’s largest and most effective food banks, Feeding America West Michigan reclaims edible surplus food from farmers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and restaurants. It stores, processes and distributes the food through 1,300 local food pantries and other hunger relief agencies in 40 West Michigan counties. More than 100,000 West Michigan families rely on food from Feeding America West Michigan Food Bank. For more information, visit http://www.feedingamericawestmichigan.org/.
