Relay racers running and walking around the Lincoln-Way High School football field this weekend will be literally running for life.
The Will County Relay for Life, now in its fourth year, was organized by volunteers Fran Fiorettiof Mokena and Jackie Mansholt, who works at Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet, to raise funds for the American Cancer Society.
Mansholt said Silver Cross has been involved with the relay from the beginning.
The event has grown consistently, she said. “Each year we pick up four, five, six or 10 new teams. I think this is a cause that touches every family.”
The first Relay for Life was held in 1985, said Erin Richey, area manager for the American Cancer Society. “From that, the relays just started to blossom,” Richey said.
Last year, the Will County event included 33 teams and raised $90,000, and it’s growing, she said.
About 600 participants divided into about 50 teams are expected to participate in the relay, which begins at 5 p.m. Friday and ends at 10 a.m. Saturday, she said.
The youngest team will be a group of 4th graders from Mokena, who put together a relay team to support a classmate who has cancer, Fioretti said. “That’s what it’s all about,” she said.
Some of the children even got small pledges of 50 cents from little brothers and sisters in addition to pledges from adults, Fioretti said.
Each participant raises funds by collecting pledges and selling luminaries, Richey said.
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The luminaries, bags containing candles, can be marked with the name of a cancer survivor or the name of someone who died of cancer. The candles will be placed around the football field and lit during a ceremony at 9 p.m. Friday to honor people with cancer.
All the names will be read. “It’s a very emotional ceremony, very touching,” Richey said.