Thursday 27 March 2014

Helping hands always needed to volunteer their time

Volunteers important part of Relay For Life team

The Canadian Cancer Society’s website reports that from coast-to-coast in 2013, there were 16,224 teams, raising a total of $46.5 million participating in Relay For Life.
It’s been noted often here that Woodstock was No 7 in Ontario in 2013 for dollars raised. That’s a huge accomplishment as now the work is well underway for 2014 to retain that place in the standings or better yet – move up – and exceed $300,000!
Woodstock – Relay For Life is always seeking more assistance and here are some ways you could volunteer.
Logistics. It truly takes a small army to organize and set up the CASS track for Relay from tents to awnings, signage to extension cords, and the building of the stage.
Luminaries. I think the goal every year is to sell 2,000 luminaries. If your place of business would like to assist in selling that would be great. The luminary bags must also have names and tributes written on them, then set up around the track, and then taken off the track the next morning, and packed away (wooden blocks inside bags) for next year.
Clean Up. A huge thanks every year to both the Lions Club of Woodstock and the local Knights of Columbus council for manpower to ‘tear down’ and clean up after a long night. We could always use more volunteers
Physiotherapists.
Entertainment. Relay usually has at least three musical performers, so there is live music up to about midnight on the stage. If your band would like to volunteer, contact Dan Henry at Heart FM (537-8040)
Survivors Tent. Assisting in registering cancer survivors and distributing t-shirts.
Food Tent. Our committee is lucky that many volunteers in this area contribute their time year after year, but the more hands (wearing gloves, of course) the better. Former Woodstock city council member Connie Lauder is pictured below.
The list goes on and on. Contact the CCS office for more details as your name and contact info will be added to a list and you will be contacted by the volunteer coordinator or a sub-committee member.
Relay For Life is grateful of its many more sponsor volunteers, including the Woodstock Camera Club (see picture) for taking team photos and a ton of generic pictures to be used to promote future events. After the team photos are taken, the camera disks are rushed to Shoppers Drug Mart (in the east end) to be developed and all the photos are returned to CASS before midnight.
Finally, a big thanks is passed along to the CASS crew of custodians who always do their part in helping Relay For Life: Celebrate . . . Remember . . . Fight Back
  



To understand more about Relay, you can contact any committee member, call the CCS locally, or watch one of many videos as the story can be told through pictures and commentary.
The first two links below of Woodstock Relay have been posted previously.
A replay of Chuck Phelps speaking at the opening ceremony:

Comments made from Woodstock participants, including Bill Johnson, whose son Jacob (Jacob’s Story) died from cancer.  

Here are three more national videos:

More links:

Relay For Life
Woodstock – June 13-14, 2014
Captain's Night
Fanshawe College (Tuesday, April 8, 6:30 p.m.), background details about registrations, sponsorships, luminary sales, volunteering, silent auction, registering as a survivor, entertainment, signing up for bank night, recruiting team members, and the logistics of setting up the over-night camp at CASS.
To sign up or sponsor a participant, see: www.relayforlife.ca/woodstock or call the Oxford unit office at (519) 537-5592. To volunteer, contact the CCS local office and you will be contacted back by a volunteer coordinator.
If you would like to contribute a story (Why you participate) or promote a Relay team fundraiser, send details to: mschadenberg@rogers.com. 
Celebrate . . . Remember . . . Fight Back

CONTACT:
Tracy Bucholtz
CCS – Oxford unit fundraising

(519) 537-5592

Tuesday 18 March 2014

And the winner of the team challenge is . . . ?

Woodstock Relay wins the Team Registration Challenge versus St Thomas

From the desk of Tracy Bucholtz, fundraising coordinator for the Canadian Cancer Society, Oxford community office.

                ()()()()()()()()
A huge THANK YOU to all the teams that registered between February 14th and March 14th, during the St. Thomas vs. Woodstock team registration challenge. I am happy to announce that Woodstock is the WINNER of the challenge!!! 
If you didn't have a chance to sign up during that time, remember you can sign up at www.relayforlife.ca/woodstock any time!
                ()()()()()()()()

Relay For Life
To learn more about Relay For Life in Woodstock – June 13-14, 2014, plus background information on Oxford County events in Ingersoll (June 20) and Tillsonburg (June 6) as well, be sure to read other posts on this blog site. Many updates will appear as Relay approaches, including reminders about the two captain's nights at Fanshawe College (first one is Tuesday, April 8, 6:30), background details about registrations, recruiting team members, selecting a campsite, sponsorships, volunteering, and the logistics of setting up the over-night camp at CASS.
To sign up or sponsor a participant, see: www.relayforlife.ca/woodstock, call the Oxford unit office at (519) 537-5592, or contact co-chairs Sandy Smith or Deb Moss at their contact info below.
If you would like to contribute a story (Why you participate) to this blog or promote a Relay team fundraiser, send details to: tbucholtz@ontario.cancer.ca
Also: 
Follow us on Facebook at: Canadian Cancer Society's Relay For Life In Woodstock group
Follow us on Twitter at: @Woodstock Relay and @CCSOxfordCounty
Celebrate . . . Remember . . . Fight Back

CONTACTS:
Sandy Smith
Relay For Life co-chair
(519) 456-5270
Bob Axon
Sponsorship committee and co-chair
(519) 421-0806
Deb Moss
Relay For Life co-chair
Email: mmoss905@rogers.com
(519) 539-2288
Tracy Bucholtz
CCS – Oxford unit fundraising
(519) 537-5592


Attend the Captain's Night on April 8

Relay For Life organizing event April 8 at Fanshawe College

The first of two Captain's Nights are set for Relay For Life for 2014.
The organizing committee invites all Team Captains, and team members if they would also like to attend, to the Captain's Night at Fanshawe College on Finkle Street on Tuesday, April 8, 6:30 p.m., for more background details about registrations, fundraising ideas, recruiting team members, motivation, new ideas for 2014, selecting your campsite, sponsorships, luminary sales, volunteering, silent auction, entertainment, and the logistics of setting up the over-night camp at CASS.
Every year, all teams have an enjoyable night of remembering, celebrating and fighting back. Relay For Life is all about recalling past struggles with cancer and raising dollars to find a cure. Look below at the cross-section of team photos from last year.
By the way, there's still a lot of time to recruit your own team for Relay For Life from your group of friends, neighbours, relatives, co-workers, or even possibly your friends from the gym.
   





And, we certainly can't forget the great folks from Vuteq:


Relay For Life
To learn more about Relay For Life in Woodstock – June 13-14, 2014, plus background information on Oxford County events in Ingersoll (June 20) and Tillsonburg (June 6) as well, be sure to read other posts on this blog site. Many updates will appear as Relay approaches, including reminders about the two captain's nights at Fanshawe College (first one is Tuesday, April 8, 6:30), background details about registrations, recruiting team members, selecting a campsite, sponsorships, volunteering, registering as a survivor, entertainment, and the logistics of setting up the over-night camp at CASS.
To sign up or sponsor a participant, see: www.relayforlife.ca/woodstock or call the Oxford unit office at (519) 537-5592.
If you would like to contribute a story (Why you participate) or promote a Relay team fundraiser, send details to: tbucholtz@ontario.cancer.ca or mschadenberg@rogers.com
Also: 
Follow us on Facebook at: Canadian Cancer Society's Relay For Life In Woodstock group
Follow us on Twitter at: @Woodstock Relay and @CCSOxfordCounty
Celebrate . . . Remember . . . Fight Back




CONTACTS:
Sandy Smith
Relay For Life co-chair
(519) 456-5270
Bob Axon
Sponsorship committee and co-chair
(519) 421-0806
Deb Moss
Relay For Life co-chair
Email: mmoss905@rogers.com
(519) 539-2288
Mark Schadenberg
Public relations committee
Twitter: markroyallepage
(519) 537-1553
Tracy Bucholtz
CCS – Oxford unit fundraising
(519) 537-5592

Wednesday 5 March 2014

Kick-Off for Relay For Life is Thursday, March 6

Guest speaker Lori Husk has a story about courage and determination

Every year the organizing committee for Relay For Life hosts a Kick-Off Event to begin publicity for this annual 12-hour fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society. 
The 2014 Kick-Off rally for Woodstock is Thursday, March 6, at 7 p.m. at Quality Inn Hotel & Suites. Be sure to arrive before 7 to talk to committee members, register your team, discover what is new about Relay for this year, book your campsite, purchase a luminary or two, and enjoy refreshments. 
The guest speaker is cancer survivor Lori Husk, who talks about support from family, her personal courage, positive attitude and determination, and her treatment to become 'cancer free'.
The Kick-Off will include updates from this year's three co-chairs of Sandy Smith, Deb Moss and Bob Axon. They will talk about goals to reach -- number of teams and dollars raised. The theme of 'Rediscover A Decade' will be talked about. The CCS has placards produce which describe many medical advancements made in finding a cure over the recent decades.
The Kick-Off event is a great opportunity for someone who has thought about attending Relay, but never has. Or, for someone who has participated in the past on a team, but is now thinking about forming their own team as a captain.
Check out the ad below for the events as it also notes when the Ingersoll Kick-Off is and posts a good list of sponsors who make Relay For Life a success every year.


NEWSPAPER LINK TO STORY:
http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2014/03/04/woodstocks-relay-for-life-kick-off-rally-takes-place-thursday-night-at-quality-hotel-and-suites

Monday 3 March 2014

Looking back to 2013; now looking ahead to 2014

Watch the Chuck Phelps video from 2013 Relay
A powerful message.
Not a dry eye in the crowd.
Chuck Phelps has spoken at the opening ceremonies for the last two years of Relay For Life in Woodstock. The Canadian Cancer Society's Oxford community office has been lucky to have Chuck as a spokesperson and a long-time volunteer for Relay. Chuck led the survivors' lap at Relay For Life.
Chuck continues his fight against cancer.
If you did not see and hear his remarks from 2013, you should watch this:

LINK:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y6xJ4s6WEc