The 2011 Freeborn County Relay for Life season will kick off Monday at the Freeborn County Fairgrounds during what has been named as the official Freeborn County Relay for Life Day.

The kickoff will begin at 6 p.m. at the Fairlane Building at the fairgrounds, at which time teams participating in the event will be able to pick up their packets and luminaries and be approved to start sales.

“Cancer affects so many more new patients — and patients who are still battling — so we really need to get out there and raise money to help these cancer patients and their families get through these hard times,” said 2011 Freeborn County Relay for Life Chairwoman Vicki Manges.

The Relay for Life is the signature event of the American Cancer Society held each year during which people walk around a track typically for about 12 hours all in the name of collecting money to fight cancer.

This year’s event will be Aug. 12, with all funds raised through the event going to support families who are affected by cancer.

“Cancer touches so many people’s lives,” Manges said. “They’re not alone and we want to do whatever we can to make their treatment, their loss, whatever it may be, a little easier.”

Manges said on Friday at the area schools there will be a Hats Off to Cancer fundraiser, during which students will be able to wear a hat to school all day long after making a donation. Last year was the first year of this fundraiser, and Manges said she hopes it is even more successful this year.

“We’re hoping the teachers take time to talk to their students about cancer — what it can do to families and people,” she said.

The hats in the fundraiser pay tribute to cancer patients’ “badge of courage” that they wear after losing their hair because of chemotherapy.

Manges said this year’s Relay for Life event has been in the planning stages almost immediately after the event from 2010 was concluded.

“We start making plans for this year right away, as soon as we’ve closed with the previous year,” she said.

She noted that the committee is excited about some of the changes that have been made.

In 2010, with the concern about severe weather, Relay for Life officials made many changes to how the event operated.

Through this experience, Manges said the committee has decided to expand camping, have more electricity available to people who want to bring their campers and to expand the track in which participants will walk around that night.

There will be more food vendors and possibly some bingo, with some additional changes in parking to make it accessible to more people.

“I think we’re off to a good start of where we need to go,” Manges said.

If teams cannot make it to the event on Monday, it will not be too late to form a team. Team registration is on June 27.

If people have questions they can call Jenny Habana at 383-4582.

Manges said during the kickoff Monday, local Relay for Life organizers also hope to unveil the 2011 Pandora charm that will be given to cancer survivors later in the summer.

The charm is donated through a collaboration with Pandora and Stadheim Jewelers in downtown Albert Lea.