Bryce Forbes
While most teams are working hard to raise some funds for this year’s “Relay for Life” coming up June 25-26, there are a few groups who are taking different approaches to reaching the overall goal of $50,000.
Anneda Chabot is leading her team in making glass bead bracelets, as well as holding a garage sale.
Nicole Shatull, meanwhile, is getting people to donate teddy bears, which then will be turned over to kids battling cancer.
“Member of our group sat together and went through the different ideas,” noted Chabot. “The committee had given us some ideas and had different suggestions.
“So we sat together and thought what can we make regarding the bracelets,” she added, noting they put in some of their own money to get started.
“Now we are officially done buying, we just have to sell them,” she reasoned.
Chabot teamed up with her mother in making the bracelets, spending a few nights until 3 a.m. to get them all completed.
The duo created around 150 bracelets, and with selling them for $3 each. If they sell them all, they’ll make $450 off the bracelets alone.
Each bracelet is a different colour to represent the different types of cancer—something Chabot admits she didn’t know before.
For instance, yellow represents bladder cancer, pink for breast cancer, royal blue or brown for colon cancer, teal for ovarian cancer, and violet for Hodgkin’s Disease.
“I wanted to go above and beyond this year, and put in all the extra effort that I can, to make as much money as we can,” stressed Chabot.
“Fundraising alone, we have almost raised $400 and we have lots of bracelets left to sell.”
Anyone interested in purchasing a bracelet can contact Chabot at 274-6263.
Her team, “Countries Against Cancer,” also ran a garage sale recently which produced $187.50—all of which will be donated for the “relay.”
In fact, the team had so many people wanting to participate that it grew to 20 members before they decided to break off into two separate ones, which consist of co-workers, family, friends, and children.
“Relay for Life” organizer Cindy Homer is all for people finding new ways to raise funds.
“I think it’s great because in the past, it seemed the teams, there wasn’t a lot of evidence that they were trying to have fundraisers other than asking for pledges,” noted Chabot.
For her part, Shatull is using a different approach. Instead of asking for pledges, she wants people to donate teddy bears (or money to buy teddy bears) in hopes of turning them over to the Canadian Cancer Society or Hospice Northwest in Thunder Bay.
She is asking people to bring the bears to the “Relay of Life” on June 25 at Fort Frances High School—and hopes to raise awareness about children with cancer.
She came up with the idea after a family member was stricken with the disease.
“My niece had cancer about 20 years ago when she was just a child,” noted Shatull.
“She received a bear, and still has it.
“It was an idea that popped into our head, and our team just jumped on it and ran with it,” she added.
This marks Shatull’s third year participating in the local “Relay For Life” as a member of “Cuddle for a Cure.”
“I’ve known so many people that have had cancer, this is just my way of helping,” she reasoned, added her team just collected pledges last year.
“Last year, when we had talked about it after the fact, we decided that we were going to do extra fundraising and do something a little bit special and different for this year,” Shatull explained.
For more information about the “Relay for Life,” visit www.cancer.ca/relay
