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

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