An End to Angels

Relay for Life season is coming to its end for 2013. Over the past year, you’ve heard about my preparations and fundraising for my church’s team Angels for a Cure. It’s the last time I’ll be able to say I’m on a team of Angels, at least one that raises money to fight against cancer.

We went out with a bang. We won fifth place overall for fundraising and got first place for most number of laps walked. We went to the silver team level, raising over $4500 which was $1,000 over our goal.

It was an amazing year, starting with a garage sale last October and finishing with photography sessions this April just a couple weeks before the actual Relay. We also had our first ever Chili Cookoff and a two-day bake sale to end all bake sales. We auctioned off donated items at the Elks annual auction and ate at Ruby Tuesday’s, getting ten percent for the team. We sold over $900 in luminaria as well as several trackmarkers, something we had never sold before.

We had the final team party on Tuesday and got the photos of our team, lapel pins for being a silver team and bumper stickers. My cohort in crime Mindy Collin came with me. I would not have been able to do it without her. She took over the Chili Cookoff when I told her my mother was dying and made it a success.

She wasn’t the only one. She and Carolyn Whitman called me almost daily before Relay organizing every detail. Melanie and Gerry Rodrigues decorated for the Chili Cookoff and Andy August was a kind of master of ceremonies and organizational coach. 

Melanie also helped me hawk muffins at Relay despite her assertion that I was a pirate in a former life. Her cheesecakes brought in a hefty amount at our bake sales, too. Jorunn Warren brought four kinds of muffins to Relay including Reeses peanut butter cup and brookies (brownie and cookie muffins).

I can’t forget Samantha Roberts, whose pina colada scrub was a hit at Relay and who styled hair for us, sold two trackmarkers and taught us all how to make beautiful hair ribbons to sell. Her mother Jennifer Romito helped with the hair and made us pretty Relay pins to give out while her other daughter Maddie stayed and walked most of the night to help us earn the most laps walked trophy.

Diane and Doug Wallborn showed up at Relay with more pins and hair ribbons to sell which Diane quietly put out with a smile. Erica Davenport and daughter came to Relay after her long day of work delivering babies. Jan Grover used her cooking talents for banana bread at Relay and her famous peanut chocolate clusters at the bake sale.

Carrie Gardner and her two daughters Cassie and Bailey couldn’t make it to Relay, but baked and helped at all the events beforehand. Stephanie Ball was a big help at the garage sale and stayed to the end despite the donation truck’s late arrival. A final thank you to someone who wasn't even officially on our team but showed up at Relay with gifts for our raffle and food for us and stayed to help long into the night. Thanks, Mary Ilene Mohler.

I could go on and I’m leaving out plenty but the gist of it is that I had an awesome team of Angels who never gave up fighting against cancer. I am honored to call them my team of Angels for a Cure. Thank you, all of you, my Angels.