LETTERS: THANKS FOR RELAY FOR LIFE EFFORTS

To the editor:

On behalf of the American Cancer Society and the entire Relay for Life planning committee, I would like to thank everyone who joined together to make this even successful. The second annual Relay for Life was held at Houck Stadium Aug. 8 and had more than 150 participants and raised $20,000.

Relay for Life is the national signature event for the American Cancer Society and is expected to raise over $55 million nationwide. Our community is one of 1,750 that will host a Relay for Life in 1998, and our participants are part of the 700,000 participants expected nationally.

That is the great thing about the American Cancer Society. Although it is a national organization, it continues to work at the local level and invest in communities and the power of volunteers.

I want to applaud the 30 survivors who participated in the opening lap and the survivors' recognition. They are the reason to continue to fight against cancer. Each year, more people can be living wonderful lives following a diagnosis of cancer.

I cannot forget to recognize the corporate sponsor, Cape Toyota Suzuki. Its support made it possible to keep expenses low and to allow all money raised by participants to go directly to support the programs and the research of the American Cancer Society.

The Cape Girardeau community continues to show its generosity. The fight against cancer is not over yet, but with the community's help in building awareness and raising funds, we may see a day where there will not be a place large enough to hold all the survivors.

DEBORAH WIDEMAN, Publicity Chair

American Cancer Society

Cape Girardeau