When the Johnson County community convenes for the annual Relay for Life on June 9, each participant will have raised money for a different reason.
For Connie Brockman, it will be for her father-in-law, her aunt, her uncle and her great-grandmother. But most of all, it will be in remembrance of her mother. She sat by her mom’s side as cancer in her brain, lungs and breast killed her in 2009.
“Hopefully, one of these days we’ll find a cure for it. I’ve lost all of those family members who have had it,” Brockman said. “I think they will. But we have to keep pushing and raising money to get a cure.”
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryEvery summer at the start of the annual Relay for Life in Franklin, hundreds of people band together push back against the scourge of cancer.
Men and women young and old work together in celebration of survivors and a determination to end the disease. Brightly colored T-shirts proclaim team names such as Cancer Fears Prayer, Cancer Crushers and Cancer Stinks!
Large teams of supporters band together to raise thousands of dollars for cancer programs and research. Smaller teams, some with only three or four members, contribute valuable funds for the overall Relay for Life mission.
But for all of the varied sizes, makeups and names of the teams involved, everyone makes a difference.
“It’s a great opportunity for the community to come together for one fight,” said Patty Meade, a longtime Relay for Life supporter and team captain of Cancer Fears Prayer. “We need more research dollars, and with American Cancer Society and Relay for Life, that’s how we’re going to do it.”
Relay for Life is a nationwide fundraiser of the American Cancer Society, conducted in hundreds of local communities each year.
In the months leading up to the event, teams spend months raising money, which goes to research and programs such as giving patients rides to their treatments and workshops to help women deal with hair loss.
The centerpiece is a 12-hour walk-a-thon, where team members take laps while bands perform and movies play.
Special activities such as the Luminaria Ceremony, where participants walk in the dark while luminarias are lit to remember those with cancer, and the Survivor’s Lap add poignancy to the otherwise festive atmosphere.
“One of the main reasons we do Relay is to celebrate the survivors,” Meade said. “We want to invite them to join us.”
Though Relay for Life events have been held in Greenwood and the Center Grove area in the past, the Franklin event will be Johnson County’s only one this year.
Organizers of the Franklin-based Relay for Life are reaching out to people throughout the county to increase involvement, Meade said. The unification of the entire county at one event presents an opportunity for people who are no longer involved with Relay for Life, or those who have never taken part, to form a team.
Dee Kunkel has only been involved with Relay for Life for the past two years. Kunkel is a cancer survivor herself, and though she had heard about the fundraiser, other commitments in her life prevented her from taking part. After her husband died, she was looking for activities to volunteer for, and she thought Relay for Life’s mission was a positive one.
As captain of the Walmart, she helps organize fundraisers such as bake sales and collections at the store. She’s also spearheading entertainment for the overall Relay for Life this year.
“What they do is worthwhile. I enjoy setting things up, so this is perfect for me,” she said.
The Cancer Fears Prayer team is made up of more than 40 to 50 people, and is regularly one of the most dynamic fundraisers at the Franklin event. They host dine-to-donate events, put together a murder-mystery event that is annually sold out, and sell inspirational t-shirts.
Last year, they raised more than $28,000 for the American Cancer Society, the fourth-highest fundraisers in Indiana.
“We’re a true team who goes out to fundraiser, doing things to create community involvement,” Meade said. “We work all year long. Cancer doesn’t stop, and we don’t stop.”
Meade, team captain for Cancer Fears Prayer, has been involved with Relay for Life for more than 10 years. But after her son, Evan, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in 2010, she realized how vital the services funded through the event are.
“For me, it’s to give back in the community. People don’t realize that a lot of the American Cancer Society money goes back into our community,” she said. “The whole point is so that people don’t have to hear the words, ‘You have cancer.’ If I can make a difference so that nobody else has to hear those words, I want to be involved.”
Brockman has been involved in Relay for Life since the Franklin event was founded. As captain of the Amity Fire and Rescue team, she helps lead the group in fundraising and organization.
Ever since the team formed, the members have sold pulled pork at Relay for Life each June to raise money. Their goal is to raise $1,000. Other benefits include community cookouts and breakfasts.
The group typically includes between 15 and 30 people, made up of members of the fire department and their families. But the team is open to any other community members who are looking to participate in Relay for Life, Brockman said.
“Cancer affects everybody, so we need to get out there and raise money for it. There are too many people dying from cancer. We have to do something,” she said.
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Relay for Life
When: June 9, noon to midnight
Where: Johnson County fairgrounds, 250 Fairgrounds St., Franklin
What: A nationwide fundraiser of the American Cancer Society, in which teams spend months raising money for cancer research and programs such as giving patients rides to their treatments and workshops to help women deal with hair loss.
How to get involved: People still are encouraged to form teams and sign up for the event.
Meetings are from 7 to 8 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at Franklin Community High School, 2600 Cumberland Dr. The meetings are either in the library or the LGI room. Both are accessible through the front entrance and to the right.
Upcoming meetings are scheduled for April 10 and May 8. The meetings are open to all teams, not just captains.
For more information, go to relay.acsevents.org, or by contacting Enos Dotson at [email protected] or calling 317-373-9411.
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Organizers of the Relay for Life event June 9 in Franklin are extending invitations to any cancer survivor, either those who have finished treatment ore those still ongoing in their battles against cancer. They will be celebrated during the event’s Survivor Lap, a special time of recognition.
Survivors do not need to be part of an existing Relay for Life team or do any fundraising to participate. Those who want to be included in the survivors’ celebration can contact Enos Dotson at [email protected] or 317-373-9411.
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