Submitted by Janelle Guthrie for Relay for Life Thurston County
At 10:00 p.m. on June 4, volunteers at the Thurston County Relay for Life will light hundreds of luminaria to honor lost loved ones and celebrate those surviving the battle against cancer.
These little white bags, illuminated with tea lights, will circle the track at Timberline High School, symbolizing hope—the hope that someday the world will be 100 percent cancer-free.
Nearly 500 people from 56 teams will participate in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life in Thurston County. They are cancer survivors, caregivers, volunteers, local business owners and community members, all united to help save lives from cancer.
They’re people like Mike Loomis, who lost his 15-year-old daughter, Kyla, to brain cancer last September. For two years, the family sought a remedy for Kyla’s frequent headaches—even limiting her time online thinking the screen time was bothering her. In March 2014, they learned she had an inoperable brain tumor.
Despite initial hesitation, Kyla joined her dad to walk the survivor lap in 2014—and last year, they did five miles together with Kyla in a wheelchair for most of it. She wanted to walk the final lap—and she did.
Throughout 2014, Kyla’s tumor seemed to be responding to chemotherapy and radiation—and the community held a huge softball tournament to help raise funds to help the family. That year, she was able to take a “Make-a-Wish” trip to Disneyworld. Unfortunately, in June 2015, test results revealed the tumor was back.
Her dad took her on a dream trip to New York, New Jersey , Philadelphia and Washington D.C. over Independence Day–and despite their differences, his ex-wife and Kyla’s mom joined them. Sadly, Kyla lost her battle a few months later.
Her dad, Mike Loomis, walks to honor her memory and bring awareness to the fight against cancer.
Former Secretary of State Sam Reed continues to participate in the Relay for Life after serving as Washington state fundraising chair when the “Father of Relay” Dr. Gordy Klatt launched the event in 1985 in Tacoma. Reed survived kidney cancer in 2010.
He remembers Klatt’s extraordinary passion for fighting cancer at a time when many doctors fought cancer through direct patient care, but left major fundraising efforts to board members and volunteers.
“The American Cancer Society reached out to me to serve as fundraising chair because they knew I was skilled at fundraising,” Reed said. “It was such an honor to work with Dr. Klatt, who not only fought cancer every day at work, but then launched a 24-hour walk to fight cancer in honor of one of his patients.”
Klatt, a marathoner and cancer surgeon, started the Relay movement with his City of Destiny 24-hour Run Against Cancer in 1985. Supported by friends and colleagues, he circled the track at Baker Stadium at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, running and walking for nearly 84 miles in those 24 hours and raising $27,000 through pledges for the fight against cancer.
By 1986, the Relay for Life featured 19 teams who raised $33,000—and the event soon became a signature fundraising event for the American Cancer Society. Today, the Relay for Life movement is the world’s largest fundraising event, fighting every cancer in every community, with four million participants raising more than $5 billion in 6,000 events worldwide in 2015.
Dollars raised help the American Cancer Society fund groundbreaking cancer research, provide free information and critical services for people with cancer, and support education and prevention programs.
The Thurston County Relay for Life is a “Mega-Event” meaning it raises more than $200,000 to fight cancer. In fact, the 56 teams participating in the Thurston County Relay for Life have already raised nearly $227,000. In Thurston County, the ACS provides rides to treatment, wigs for those who’ve lost their hair and other services.
The timing of this year’s event has been altered to allow cancer survivors to participate in the Providence Cancer Survivor Celebration from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 4.
The Thurston County Relay for Life will be held from noon on June 4 through noon June 5 at Timberline High School, 6120 Mullen Rd SE, Olympia, 98503.
The event is free to the public and anyone can participate. Teams will sell raffle tickets, food and other items to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Other teams will host silent auctions. The event features music and activities throughout the 24 hours. Specific events are as follows:
- 3:00 p.m. June 4 – Opening Ceremony and a celebratory cancer survivors and caregivers lap.
- 10:00 p.m. June 4 – Luminaria Ceremony – We light candles in honor and memory of locals who have survived or lost the battle against cancer.
- 11:30 a.m. on June 5 – Closing Ceremony
Contact Janelle Guthrie at 360-561-4184 or janelleguthrie@hotmail.com with questions.
