County ‘Relay’ pushes past Cancer Society goal
Published 7:04 pm Monday, April 30, 2018
By Ken Stickney
NEDERLAND — Big crowds late Saturday pushed Jefferson County’s combined Relay for Life event Saturday past the $350,000 mark in donations, co-leader Paul Baker said Monday.
The combined effort, held from noon to midnight on Nederland’s Boston Avenue, was projected to draw some 2,500 to 3,000 people who worked or patronized merchandise, game and food tents set up by 66 Relay for Life teams.
Baker said projects early Saturday showed the county effort would clear a $300,000 goal but by Monday, profits for the American Cancer Society had cleared $350,000.
“How much over, we don’t know,” Baker said, but he declared the event a success.
The countywide effort was a first, combining efforts by volunteers in Mid County and Beaumont. In 2017, due to bad weather, the Mid County Relay for Life was moved from Boston Avenue to the Beaumont Civic Center, where it shared the site with a separate Beaumont Relay for Life group. This year, the two groups joined efforts intentionally.
Baker said crowds grew larger around 5 p.m., with a cancer survivors walk scheduled at 6. He said the 9 o’clock luminary walk was “one of the best ever.”
Baker has volunteered for Relay for Life for almost two decades.
The 12-hour event featured walks in memory of cancer victims, a silent auction, band performances, volunteer vendor tents and more.
