Interest in Relay for Life Grows in Brewster, Putnam County

With an estimated 110,280 new cases of cancer anticipated in New York this year, Putnam County residents are fighting back and raising funds to support Relay For Life’s lifesaving mission to end cancer.

“From Mahopac to Patterson, and now growing interest in Brewster, the Relay For Life movement unites communities throughout Putnam County,” said Patrice Lestrange Mack of the American Cancer Society.

What Is Relay For Life?

Relay For Life is an event where teams and individuals “camp out” at a local school or park-like grounds and take turns walking around a track or path. It is noncompetitive nor a road race. Each team has at least one participant walking on the track at all times and participates in raising funds to support the American Cancer Society’s mission to finish the fight against cancer. The Relay For Life movement is the world’s largest fundraising event to fight every cancer in every community, with four million participants in 6,000 events worldwide in 2015.

Putnam residents are encouraged to learn about, join or donate to the Relay For Life of Mahopac on June 4 or Relay For Life of Patterson on June 11.

More information is available at http://www.relayforlife.org/mahopacNY andhttp://www.relayforlife.org/pattersonNY or by calling Tracey Walsh at 845.216.1139 or tracey.walsh@cancer.org.

Brewster Spurs Support for Community Cancer Effort

Brewster cancer survivors and supporters participated in an interest meeting at Brewster High School on May 2 to discuss the possibility of establishing a Relay For Life event at Brewster High School track in Spring 2017.

More than 30 people attended the event including Dean Berardo, Director of Athletics for Brewster High School.

Katie DiVenuto, a community manager with the American Cancer Society and Brewster High School graduate, led a group discussion about the youth leadership opportunities and community volunteerism necessary to create a positive Relay For Life experience.

“From assisting with pre-event planning to taking part the day-of, to supporting fundraising and promotion efforts, there are volunteer opportunities that range from a few hours of community service to longer serving leadership roles,” she said. “Many Relay volunteers are family, friends, and neighbors of all ages who have faced cancer themselves. Each new person that joins Relay brings us one step closer to saving more lives.”

Join the Relay For Life Movement

“One of the best ways to understand Relay is to experience what it is all about,” advises Tracey Walsh of Mahopac, and community manager for Relay For Life events in Putnam County. “Residents from Brewster, Carmel, Kent, Putnam Valley, Cold Spring and Garrison are encouraged to visit one of the events set for next month in Putnam County: June 4, 2016 at Mahopac High School or June 11 at Patterson Fire Department.”

• More information is available at relayforlife.org.
• More information about events in Putnam County is available at: http://www.relayforlife.org/mahopacNY andhttp://www.relayforlife.org/pattersonNY.
• To learn more about volunteer opportunities and committee roles in Brewster, please contact Katie DiVenuto at Katie.divenuto@cancer.org.

PHOTO: Brewster students against cancer/contributed