Donations welcome for May 30 Relay for Life at Villanova
- Ron Giofu
- 12 minutes ago
- 2 min read
A large fundraiser to support those with cancer and cancer research is returning to St. Thomas of Villanova Secondary School this Friday.
Relay for Life starts Friday afternoon (May 30) and runs into the evening, with activities throughout the day. Sofia Borrowman, a Grade 11 student at St. Thomas of Villanova, is a co-captain of the committee helping to organize it with Michela La Porta with Borrowman being participant chair. She oversees registration and fundraising, as well as various other things.
“Relay For Life is a fundraiser held by schools all over Canada. It is run through the Canadian Cancer Society, and all of the funds go towards helping people who are battling or have battled cancer,” Borrowman explained. “Most of the funds that we raise stay local to help fund ride programs to and from treatments, hospital and hotel stays, a help hotline, and many other useful resources for people battling cancer.”
Borrowman said it is a nine-hour event that runs from 1-10 p.m. She said it starts with a “Survivor Walk” where people who have overcome cancer or those currently fighting the disease can walk around the track.
After the opening ceremony and “Survivor Walk,” Borrowman said there are several such as therapy dogs, inflatables, zoomba, Kona Ice, Dairy DeLite, and more.
A luminary ceremony remembering those who have fought cancer or those still fighting caps the night, with that getting started at 9 p.m.
“It’s a real eye-opening part of the night,” Borrowman said of the luminary ceremony. “This is the most important part of our event because it brings the entire community together and reminds us why we are doing this.”
About 600 students from within the Catholic high school have signed up to be part of it. Borrowman said the committee was formed in January but started fundraising in earnest in April.
Villanova’s fundraising goal as a school is $60,000 and they have raised over $43,000 online as of this story being posted.
“When Villanova hosted its last Relay For Life event in 2023, we crushed our goal of $50,000 when we raised over $72,000 as a school community,” she said. “This would not have been possible without the support of local businesses and families in our community. In order to reach and surpass our goal this year, we are counting on donations from people and businesses in our community that are willing to donate. We’re always looking for people in our community who want to donate.”
Individuals or businesses can visit www.relayforlife.ca, search “View All School Events,” look under Ontario and find St. Thomas of Villanova. People can also Google “Relay for Life Villanova” in order to find the site.
The direct link is https://support.cancer.ca/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLY_NW_even_?fr_id=30256&pg=entry.
“We kind of call this a party with a purpose,” said Borrowman.
By Ron Giofu
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