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Relay for Life returns to Orange Park Mall

Worldwide event was canceled past two years for pandemic

By Nick Blank nick@claytodayonline.com
Posted 4/20/22

ORANGE PARK – An event trying to fight cancer will make its return to Orange Park after a two-year wait.Relay for Life, also called “Carnival for a Cure,” heads to Orange Park Mall …

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Relay for Life returns to Orange Park Mall

Worldwide event was canceled past two years for pandemic


Posted

ORANGE PARK – An event trying to fight cancer will make its return to Orange Park after a two-year wait.
Relay for Life, also called “Carnival for a Cure,” heads to Orange Park Mall on May 7, from 4-9 p.m., where it is held to benefit the American Cancer Society and the local efforts toward the organization’s research and facilities.
Relay for Life of the First Coast Event Lead Erin Morris said she expected a sizable attendance. The COVID-19 pandemic led to the merger of Clay, St. Johns and Duval counties’ volunteer groups, she said, and combining some resources.
“We’re representing that nobody fighting cancer is fighting alone, you have family and friends and a community,” Morris said. “A difficult task is not as difficult, not as impossible.”
There will be a one-mile fun run to follow the opening ceremony. While teams can raise money on a track for charity, the event also has a carnival theme for food trucks, a kid’s zone and vendors. A goal of this year’s event is multiple options and opening it up to the community, Morris said.
“Cancer has impacted everybody if you think about it, your friends, your family and your coworkers,” Morris said. “Everyone you know.”
According to the American Cancer Society, the Relay for the First Coast has raised more than $40,000 of its $60,000 goal so far. There were 35 teams, with some having as many as nine members, for the five-hour relay signed up as of Monday.
At about 8:30 p.m., attendees will carry glow sticks, honoring those who fought or survived cancer, during a luminaria.
“It’s gorgeous, it’s a really nice sight,” Morris said of the luminaria. “It’s for who we lost, who survived and to encourage those fighting to continue.”
To register for the fun run or to join a team, visit Relayforlife.Org/Firstcoastfl or download the American Cancer Society’s mobile fundraising app.