The community is encouraged to lace up and come out to this annual fundraiser.

By Mary O’KEEFE

For the past 15 years Relay for Life of the Foothills has been an anticipated event in Crescenta Valley. Though it has moved locations from the field at Crescenta Valley High School to the soccer field at Clark Magnet High School, the basic goal always remained the same – raise funds and awareness for cancer research and programs.
Traditional Relay for Life of the Foothills events have been 24-hour experiences. Participants form teams and raise money for the American Cancer Society (Relay for Life is an ACS program). Teams of walkers would come to the event, set up booths, decorate them with information about the particular type of cancer they chose to highlight and members would walk the track from 9 a.m. on a Saturday to 9 a.m. on Sunday.
This year there has been a change to the schedule. The event is no longer a 24-hour event but will be from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, April 1 at Clark Magnet High School, 4747 New York Ave. in La Crescenta.
“The [Relay for Life] committee felt that this was the best option for this year,” said Adriana Serrano, ACS representative.
As of press time there are 13 teams planning to walk and funds can still be donated.
“Monies raised are used for services provided to your community. An example of a service used in the foothills communities is our Road to Recovery program,” Serrano said.
Road to Recovery is a ACS program that provides free rides to and from treatments for cancer patients who either do not drive or do not have anyone to take them to their treatments.
According to the ACS, about 3.6 million Americans delay or have difficulty getting needed medical care each year due to the lack of available and affordable transportation to treatment. ACS offers several programs to help with transportation including the Road to Recovery, Transportation Assistance, Air Miles – when the treatment requires traveling farther from home – and Community Mobilization when the ACS works with community organizations to provide transportation services to give cancer patients more options.
Although the times of Relay have changed there are still some staples that have remained. Team booths will still be set up along the field at Clark Magnet, there will be ongoing fundraising and stories shared by those who have been touched by cancer.
Each team will have a member on the track the entire 12 hours of the event representing that cancer never rests. There will be stories told by cancer survivors and caregivers but the most moving part of Relay for Life of the Foothills is the luminaria ceremony. This is when all the participants light a candle originating from a single flame, the lights on the school campus are dimmed and all walk the track carrying their lit candles. Around the perimeter of the track are small decorated bags filled with sand and holding a lit votive candle. The luminaria ceremony will be held at 8 p.m. at the April 1 event.
Although this year’s Relay for Life of the Foothills will not be a 24-hour event that does not mean it will stay that way.
“The event can go back to 24 hours if the future committee and community want it,” Serrano said.
For those who want to donate to a team or even create a team visit www.relayforlife.org/FoothillsCA.