The 2013 Freeborn County Relay for Life season will kick off next Monday with a birthday party at the Fairlane Building at the Freeborn County Fairgrounds.

The party, which will begin at 6:30 p.m., is set up to celebrate the 100th birthday of the American Cancer Society and to celebrate another year of birthdays for area cancer survivors, said local relay Co-Chairwoman Vicki Manges.

All survivors, team captains and team members are invited to attend.

Team captain information, including registration packets and luminaries, will be available that evening. Committee members will also be on hand to help with online registration, and representatives from the Freeborn County Bike-A-Thon will provide information about their May 4 event, which raises money to support the American Cancer Society.

Manges said the Relay for Life kickoff is typically in May.

“We’re changing it up to give more people the opportunity to be involved with the relay,” she said.

She hopes it will also give survivors another time to be recognized, other than at the relay itself and the ice cream social typically held a week or two before.

“The survivors are why we walk,” Manges said.

The Relay for Life is the American Cancer Society’s signature event of the year and aims to draw survivors and the community together to raise awareness about cancer and support for research. Money raised goes to support cancer research, clinical trials, a call center for cancer patients, a visitation program for breast cancer patients and free lodging for patients undergoing treatment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, among others.

Freeborn County ranked fourth in the nation in 2012 for the amount of money raised per capita for the Relay for Life fundraiser. Local residents donated about $193,000, with $44,000 alone coming from the Freeborn County Bike-A-Thon.

Local officials hope to raise $193,500 this year.

 

Upcoming Relay for Life events:

• April 15: Relay kickoff and birthday party

• May 6, June 3: Team captain meetings

• July 22: Ice cream social

• Aug. 9-10: Relay