A lower-than-expected turnout might have been discouraging to organizers of the Española Relay for Life event, but for Cathy Rael it was still a significant show of support.
“I’ve never been to one of these before,” Rael said as she strode around the track at Española Valley High School. “It’s great to see everyone out here walking to raise money. There’s a lot of research that still needs to be done and a lot of new things we need to find out about cancer.”
Rael, who has been free of cancer since July 2007, said she had never participated in an American Cancer Society event or had even heard of the organization before her son was contacted to play music for the Española event.
“He said he thought I should come out with him and I thought it sounded like a great thing,” Rael said.
The event which was held from 7 p.m. Aug. 2 to 7 a.m. Sunday, was sponsored by the American Cancer Society. Community volunteers made up the committee which organized the event and helped raise money. Participants in the event formed teams of about 10 people.
The committee also made farolitos for participants to purchase and decorate for family members or friends who had been affected by cancer. During her opening speech, Mildred Martinez, who heads the committee, asked the crowd to raise their hands if they had someone in their family that was affected by cancer. Her question prompted just about everyone in the audience to raise their hands.
Darlene Mondragon, a breast cancer survivor who participated in the walk, was one member of the audience who had had first-hand knowledge of the far reaching effects of cancer. Mondragon said she is the third member of her family to be diagnosed with cancer.
“I try to come out every year,” Mondragon said as she helped her children decorate farolitos. “It’s really a great event.”
Despite the support for those in attendance, event organizers said attendance and donations were lower than in previous years.
“I think it has a lot do with the economy,” Martinez said. “Sometimes it’s just hard to get people to donate money.”
Society Community Relationship Manager Marina Mac Vicar said the event managed to attract about 100 at its peak and raised about $4,000, compared to last year’s total of about $20,000.
“I think it was disappointing, but Española is a really great community and I think they’ll pull together next year,” MacVicar said. “The teams this year were mostly families and not corporate teams like we usually see.”
For information about Relay for Life or about programs offered by the American Cancer Society, call 262-6026.