Relay For Life moves to Deshler
Local youth teams including the “Walking Saints” of Byron; “The Average Joes” of Carleton, “Ignighters” of Davenport and Deshler’s “Team Earlene” will add excitement to this year’s Thayer County Relay for Life as event co-chairman and high school senior Krista Schardt of Carleton sets her sights on youthful activities.
Deshler High School students will open the ceremonies with the National Anthem and Thayer County 4H groups will hold their annual ice cream roll off providing tasty treats for donations to the Relay.
Many young participants have personal reasons to Relay: When Thayer Central high school student-athlete Cody Long traveled to watch her older sister play volleyball for Wayne State College, she watched the team recognize breast cancer awareness.
That night she thought about her grandmother who lost a long battle with liver cancer and her grandfather who had survived colon cancer and knew her volleyball team would come together to help those facing cancer.
“Knowing the pain cancer patients endure made me realize there are so many things to do to help them,” Cody said. “This is very important to me because cancer has touched my life personally with my grandparents and this was important to our team because we got the chance to help a staff member at our school.”
Through pledges from around the school and community for each kill in volleyball the team recorded and by selling breast cancer-themed materials, the team raised $1,150 in one night to help fight cancer. The team donated $250 to a school staff member who was traveling 150 miles to treatment every day and gave the rest to the American Cancer Society Relay For Life® of Thayer County.
This year the Thayer County Relay For Life will move to the Deshler High School track due to construction at the Thayer Central track.The event begins Friday evening, July 29, at 6 p.m. and ends Saturday morning.
More games with a “youthful touch” will be added to the evening’s venue including a local “Minute to Win It” contest, scavenger hunts, theme laps, karaoke and more.
