Oxford-Lake Orion Relay For Life Raises $122,000

Orion Township resident Bob Smith proudly announced at Monday's Orion Township Board of Trustees meeting that the Oxford-Lake Orion Relay For Life received a record number of donations this year.

"Orion can be proud this year that we raised that much money," said Smith, who is also a Relay For Life committee member.

Relay For Life is a 24-hour event where teams walk to raise money to fund the American Cancer Society (ACS) and its cancer research. The event kicked off at 10 a.m. Saturday at .

Liz Sawielski, American Cancer Society community representative, said that the goal for this year was to raise $105,000 and community members surpassed that goal already by nearly $17,000. The auctions on-site at Friendship Park raised $7,000 alone on Saturday.

"We were hit by a storm around 7 p.m., but for the most part the day was beautiful and spirits were high," Sawielski said.

Though the event is over, donations will be accepted through Aug. 31 and Sawielski said that some teams even host post-event fundraisers. To donate to the cause visit www.relayforlife.org/oxfordlakeorionmi.