Why do you Relay?

Is it for a loved one in your family who has lost their battle or is currently fighting cancer? Is it for a friend who has been diagnosed with this disease? Or is it because you care deeply for those who live and work within your community, whether or not you know their names?

Whatever the reason, this coming Friday and Saturday (April 24-25) is the time to Relay.

The ninth annual Hertford-Gates Relay for Life officially gets underway at 6:30 p.m. on Friday at Squirrel Park on the campus of Chowan University. There, 48 teams will gather to take part in the largest two-day fundraising event in the history of the Roanoke-Chowan area.

We encourage the citizens of the local area to take just a few hours of a carefree weekend and help show the world that we do care…that we are capable of picking-up the American Red Cross banner and carry it forth in an ongoing war against this dreaded disease.

While at the site, you can help yourself and others to “Celebrate…Remember…Fight Back.” The event is a celebration of those who have battled cancer; a time to remember loved ones lost to the disease and make a commitment to save lives by taking up the fight.

Be sure to be there at 9 p.m. on Friday where the event’s most touching moment will unfold with the lighting of luminaries. Those tiny lights – 3,000 strong – cast a warm and loving blanket on those whose lives have been touched in some way by cancer.

Saturday’s event schedule is also full of unique events, highlighted by the annual Kid’s Walk (10 a.m. – 12 noon).

The public is cordially invited to attend any of the events. Do yourself a favor and accept that invitation.

– The Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald