Remington College Online Campus and Corporate Office Staff Remember and Fight Back at American Cancer Society’s 2011 Relay For Life
Several Remington College Online Campus and Corporate office employees in Heathrow, Florida, came together to take a stand in the fight against cancer at the American Cancer Society’s 2011 Relay For Life, held on Friday, May 6, 2011, at the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens, in Sanford, Florida.
A total of 423 participants, in 43 teams from the Sanford area, raised about $84,000 for cancer research and programs – an amount that is growing rapidly due to donations still coming in after the event.
Our Heathrow team of 36 employees, friends, and family members began gathering in Sanford at 5: 30 p.m. on Friday night. Several spent the night camping out, many until about 8 a.m. on Saturday. Our group gathered under a tented area reserved for Remington College and enjoyed sharing stories, playing games and taking part in other fun events, listening to music, eating, and of course walking.
The event began with a speech by local area representatives. Then, the Relay kicked off with all cancer survivors, dressed in purple T-shirts, completing a “Survivors’ Lap” as everyone else in attendance celebrated the victories achieved over cancer.
During the course of the Relay, everyone took their turn walking around the designated track to raise awareness and dollars and to help the American Cancer Society create a world with less cancer and more birthdays. Our team’s theme was “fighting back,” and so the person walking also sported an inflatable pair of boxing gloves.
After dark, a Luminaria Ceremony honored those touched by cancer and remembered loved ones lost to the disease. Candles were lit inside bags filled with sand, with each bag bearing the name of a person touched by cancer, and participants walked a lap in silence.
Our Heathrow team, led by Call Center Manager John Diaz and Remington College Online Student Services Advisor Pamela King, raised about $1,600 at the Relay, through online donations, and during a pre-Relay “Bake Sale and Office Massage” event held on May 4 at our corporate office.
“I was amazed and happy at the turnout and at people’s generosity and willingness to pitch in. I never anticipated this type of reaction. It made me very proud,” said John, a caregiver whose mother, Ramona, has been a breast cancer survivor since 1996.
“It was such a success that we’ve already signed up to do it again next year,” said Pamela, herself a cancer survivor. “Like the American Cancer Society’s website says so well, ‘Saving lives from cancer starts one participant, one team, and one dollar at a time.’ But the impact we can make when we work together is much greater than what any of us could do alone to make sure that cancer never steals another year of anyone's life.”