Woodstock Relay For Life: April 2015

Foodland parking lot is destination for giant garage sale

On Saturday, May 23 you can buy a luminary to support Relay For Life, but you can also purchase a used book, blueberry muffins, and perhaps a hot-air popcorn maker and a DVD of an old movie.

The Rummage For Relay event is scheduled for May 23, 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. in the Foodland parking lot on Dundas Street.

This is not the first time Relay For Life in Woodstock has hosted a massive garage sale, but now it's a province-wide effort for most Relay events – a chance to raise money for your personal goal or for your team for the Canadian Cancer Society.

The motto for Relay is: Ready? Set. Relay!

The motto for Relay Rummage Sale is: Ready. Set. Shop.

Each team or participant in the rummage sale is asked to contact the CCS office at 65 Springbank Ave North by Friday, May 15 to register. Call Liz Wismer-VanMeer at (519) 537-5592.

Maybe your team wants to organize kids' games, or host a barbecue. Lots of possibilities will combine to make this a successful event again this year. Sign up your team for a baking sale, flower sales, used garage sale items, gently-worn clothes or gently read books or DVDs.

LUMINARY

The Relay committee selling and promoting luminaries will also be present that day. The price of a luminary is $5 to either honour someone who has passed away from cancer, or to recognize a cancer survivor.

The May 22-23 two-day span will also be a local blitz for luminary sales at: Relay Rummage Sale, but also at Zehr's, Scott's No Frills, Walmart, Food Basics and Sobeys.

Many reasons why Woodstock office of large insurance company delivers large sponsorship contribution

Discovering a cure for cancer requires large amounts of on-going research dollars.

Relay For Life in Woodstock raises money for the Canadian Cancer Society to assist in many medical trials and studies to advance cancer treatments.

The Relay For Life, which is Saturday, June 13 (6 p.m. - midnight) at CASS high school in Woodstock, is pleased to announced it has renewed a very important sponsor as Western General Insurance (a division of The Economical Insurance Group) has agreed to contribute $10,000 to the Woodstock event -- an increase from its $7,000 sponsorship level of 2014.

“This is the third year Western General has been one of our significant sponsors,” notes Box Axon, sponsorship chair for Woodstock Relay. “At $10,000 they are now our largest contributor. It's quite a milestone. Western General is making quite an impact on Relay For Life.”

The Woodstock office for Western General is at 959 Dundas Street and manager of operations Ken Worsley described many reasons why they are involved.

“We have a lot of cancer survivors or I call them thrivers working here,” said Worsley. “We have a lot of employees and policy holders who live and work in Woodstock, and we like to give support where we can – to place our resources toward where it has the most impact.”

Western General under writer Dawn Alexander wrote the initial corporate business case to donate to Relay For Life in Woodstock, and Worsley noted the request went through various levels of management before gaining approval.

The Relay For Life sponsorship committee, which also includes Jim McNamara, Geoff Patterson, Lisa Woods and Adam Hagen, have created proposals for many local companies to donate or to also participate in an in-kind program such as Boston Pizza, Swiss Chalet and Tim Hortons with the event’s dinner. Relay has secured many other major donations, including Leon’s Furniture, Kinsdale Carriers, and media sponsors (marketing and advertising assistance) such as The Woodstock Sentinel-Review and Heart FM.

Axon, who is also a former event co-chair, says Relay For Life continues to seek support from area businesses.

“We find that a lot of companies want to join in and assist us. When we approach different companies they always welcome us with open arms because they know we’re doing something positive in our community and they too want to be part of something positive,” said Axon.

Relay For Life welcomes all enquiries about sponsorship or volunteering. Contact the office at 65 Springbank Ave North or call (519) 537-5592.

PICTURE:

Front (from left): Heather Irwin (Western General), Dawn Alexander (Western General). Back: Cassie Sim (Western General), Ken Worsley (Western General), Liz Wismer-VanMeer from CCS, Bob Axon, CCS's Relay For Life.