Relay for Life Raised $25,000 for American Cancer Society

The at Community Park on June 11th raised $25,000, involved 55 teams and more than 450 participants, according to Bradley Bennett, the American Cancer Society staff partner.

The proceeds will help with research, education, advocacy and patient services, according to Bennett.

The top six fundraising teams are Team McCarthy with $3,607, Memorial Middle School with $3,492 combined over two teams, Q Family and Friends with $2,872, Carnies for Hope with $2,501, Scouting for a Cure with $2,113 and Carly's Angels with $1,923. 

"The town of Point Pleasant was wonderful in support of our event and we thank them for allowing us to host it at a beautiful space like Community Park," Bennett said. "We hope to return in the future."

The "Relay for Life" event team held a wrap-up event Tuesday evening at 6:30 at Point Pleasant Borough High School to hand out awards and make the grand total announcement to date.

The main event began at 3 p.m. June 11 where teams arrived to set up campsites and fundraising sites for the overnight event on the soccer field area.

There was one team of local high school students who set up a dunk tank at their area and teachers from Memorial Middle School had a pie-throwing contest at their fundraising site, according to Bennett.

Cancer survivors and their caregivers were invited to the Survivors Dinner where local businesses donated food to the event, Bennett said. 

Opening Ceremonies began around 7 p.m. where the organization recognized 20 cancer survivors by presenting the group with a Survivor's Medallion.

The survivors and caregivers began the walk with an opening lap, according to Bennett. 

The Luminaria Ceremony began around 9:30 p.m. and was an emotional event for all in attendance.

"The ceremony [focused on] bags that were decorated and put on display on the stage, representing those who have beaten the disease, are still going their treatments, or most often, in remembrance of loved ones lost," Bennett said.

A group of high school students led attendees in a pledge to "Fight Back Against Cancer" around midnight and had an open mic session to allow people to voice their plans on what to do after the Relay event to "help live in a world with less cancer and more birthdays," according to Bennett.

"To keep everyone energized and motivated, we had a lot of fun activities going on throughout the evening, including a potato sack race, watermelon eating contest, frozen t-shirt contest, and more," Bennett said.

The event was called off early for safety around 3 a.m. due to weather forecasts.

Fundraising efforts are ongoing from now until August 6th at the Point Borough Relay for Life web site.