News

Town shows support at Relay For Life Launch

 

By Trish Gallacher

It was exciting to see how many people came out to support the 2012 Relay For Life Launch at Towers Hill last Saturday.

About 70 people gathered at the bottom of the hill at 4.30pm. The crowd included cancer survivors, past supporters, 2012 team members and representatives from a number of local organisations and businesses.

New Mayor, Frank Beveridge, was among the crowd. Mayor Beveridge has been involved in the Relay For Life for many years. He shared the same overwhelming feeling of the large amount of support, saying that he is looking forward to participating in this year’s Relay.

Tiffany Hopkins is the 2012 organiser of the Relay For Life. She is very proud with the outcome. Tiffany updated the Relay For Life facebook page following the launch, where she thanked everyone invited.

We are an amazingly caring and active community and should be proud of all that we do and give that is outside of our already busy lives.  A Thousand Thank You’s to everyone involved.

The Relay For Life Launch involved a walk from the bottom of Towers Hill to the top. There were several stations on the way.

At Station 1 were various small activities to get people thinking about ways to improve their lifestyle. Charters Towers Neighbourhood Centre provided activities to promote their Healthy Lifestyle Program. They also discussed simple changes that people can make to improve their lifestyle .

Halfway to the top was Station 3, where the topic was “Why does Relay go for 18 Hours?”

Tiffany Hopkins discussed support services available through Cancer Council and where the money from Relay for Life goes. This was the toughest part of the walk and supporters had the chance to use this section to reflect on the the difficulties faced by cancer patients and their carers/families.

The third and final station was at the top of the hill.  Prior to the official launch, a welcome and congratulations were given to all participants who made the journey up the hill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Face and Patron of Relay – Tanya Downes & Amanda Neilson for Jemima (above, with her father) – spoke about being involved. The Relay For Life DVD was presented after sunset through the “Lookout projector” and registrations for Relay were  available. Amanda Power concluded the speeches, and the  event culminated with the release of balloons.

Water, Juice and light refreshments were enjoyed.

As they have done in previous years, Tors Drive-In Theatre will be hosting the next event in support of the Relay. Charity Movie Night will be held Friday 25th May at Tors. $4.00 from each ticket purchased will be donated to this great cause.

Relay For Life is an overnight, community event for thousands of Australians who relay non-stop as they celebrate cancer survivors, remember those lost, and fight back against the disease by raising important funds.  To find out more on how to register or sign up to volunteer, contact the local committee. All the details can be found on their Member Page.

Relay For Life will be held on the 15/16th September 2012 at the Charters Towers Showgrounds.