Independence H.S. Fights Cancer with Relay For Life of Loudoun Co.

Anna Reed, Independence High School senior and varsity cheerleader, lost her father to neuroendocrine thymic carcinoid, a rare aggressive cancer, when she was just one-and-a half years old and he was 35 years old. To honor her father and help save lives from cancer, Anna joined the American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Loudoun County and created the Independence High School Relay team in 2021. The academic leadership of Independence High School has been supportive and involved in the team’s activities and fundraising efforts. Both Anna’s grandfather and aunt also have had cancer.

The Independence High School Relay For Life team is currently the 2022 top fundraising team for Relay For Life of Loudoun County for the second consecutive year, raising $23,394 so far this year, and $18,800 for 2021.

“This is my biggest accomplishment. I wanted to bring the Relay community to my school,” said Anna, who was first introduced to Relay For Life through the gymnastic academy where she took classes as a child.

Anna credits Independence High School Principal John Gabriel, Assistant Principal Jonathan Bonner, and Relay team teacher sponsor Neha Soni and her team members for supporting her Relay efforts, including a flag football event held at the school as a fundraiser.

WHAT: The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Loudoun County is free and open to the community.

WHEN: Saturday, June 3, 4 – 10 p.m.

WHERE: The Village of Leesburg, 1610 Village Market Blvd SE, Leesburg, VA

REGISTER, DONATE or JOIN: Relay For Life is free and open to the community. Go to:
www.RelayForLife.org/loudouncountyva or contact tunisia.hollingsworth@cancer.org.

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is the world's largest volunteer-based fundraising event. For more than 36 years, communities across the world have come together to honor and remember loved ones and take action for lifesaving change. At Relay For Life, community members take turns walking around a track lined with luminaria bags. Participants cheer for local survivors (or participate as a survivor) in the first lap of the event. The event includes entertainment and fun activities, laps with fun themes and costumes, and a traditional evening Luminaria Ceremony featuring glowing Luminaria decorated with the names of loved ones lost or those presently fighting cancer.

Funds raised through Relay For Life help fund breakthrough cancer research and provide free services for cancer patients and their families, including free transportation to treatment, a network of 30+ Hope Lodge communities across the U.S. and in Puerto Rico that offer free lodging for patients who need to travel for treatment, a 24/7 cancer hotline, and access to lifesaving cancer screenings. In 2023, more than 1.9 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed in the U.S.

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The American Cancer Society is a leading cancer-fighting organization with a vision to end cancer as we know it, for everyone. For more than 100 years, we have been improving the lives of people with cancer and their families as the only organization combating cancer through advocacy, research, and patient support. We are committed to ensuring everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer. To learn more, visit cancer.org or call our 24/7 helpline at 1-800-227-2345.