BOB SURRETTE PHOTOS
Ashley Wills of Falmouth, left, is the American Cancer Society Cape and Islands coordinator for the Relays for Life. Susie Frost of West Barnstable is coordinator for the Mid-Cape Relay taking place this weekend.
By BOB SURRETTE
For most people who participate in the Relay for Life, the 24-hour fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, the connection is personal.
In her off-duty time, Lori Miranda, Animal Control Officer in Dennis, is the logistics lead for the Relay for Life for Mid Cape.
“This is totally separate from my police duties. My grandmother died from cancer in 2004,” she said.
Miranda has a variety of responsibilities with Relay for Life. “We depend of donations, such as golf carts from Bayberry Golf Course,” she said. “We use them to ferry camp gear to the camp sites.”
The Relay for Life of Mid Cape begins Saturday, June 20, at 10 a.m. and runs for 24 hours until Sunday at 10 a.m. It will be at the track field at Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School at 210 Station Avenue, in South Yarmouth.
The planning begins early.
“We get very busy about a month before the event. We met at the field almost two weeks before the event to go over all the plans on the ground,” Miranda said.
Miranda is a member of the Cape Cod Athletic Club and will be one of the relay members who will take turns running for 24 hours. She ran the Boston Marathon in 2014.
“Some of us are going to try to run for the full 24 hours,” she said.
Dara Onda, left, of Harwich coordinates the ceremonies. Lori Miranda is the logistics lead for the event.
Sponsored relay teams and individuals take turns running and walking around the track earning pledges for the anti-cancer effort.
“We have participants from 9 to 90,” said Susie Frost, who is the volunteer event facilitator. “It is the largest fund raiser event for the American Cancer Society on the Cape. Money goes for advocacy, research and services.”
The Society literature’s headline is that the event celebrates the survivors, remembers those lost to the disease and provides resources to fight back.
Frost explained the agenda. ”The event starts with registration at 10 a.m. At 11 a.m., there is the team relay pride lap. We ask members to be in their team related apparel. The official opening ceremony is at 1 p.m. All are invited. We sing our National Anthem and have the Dennis and Yarmouth Police and Fire Departments Honor Guard honor the flag,” she said.
Dara Onda of Harwich coordinates the ceremonies. “I work on planning the flow of the ceremonies, the timing, the songs we will play and sing and the segues leading up to ceremonies.”
There is a Survivor Dinner at 5 p.m. Frost said, “It is free to survivors and their caregivers.”
The organizers provide a variety of themes during the hours as walkers and runners continuously round the track. Frost said, “We will have a duct tape outfit parade, a frozen T-shirt contest and an 80s and 90s hour.” Music is piped in until 11 p.m. when quiet time begins.
Bonnie Lincoln of Brewster prepares coffee and snacks for a May organizing meeting held at the Dennis Senior Center.
Relay teams and other participants and family camp in the infield of the track overnight. “We give out a campsite decorating award at 6,” Frost said. “After dark we use candles to light the track. At 9 p.m., we have our luminary ceremony. At 10 p.m., we have a dance party in the center of the field. And we change direction on the track.”
There are even events happening in the middle of the night.
“In the wee morning hours there is the three-legged, the crazy hat and super hero laps, among others to help keep members motivated. We bring in pastries in the morning and do wake-up yoga,” Frost said.
The closing ceremony is at 9 a.m. on Sunday, June 21. “Awards go to those who earned the largest contributions for the cause,” Frost said.
There are about a dozen key volunteers that help coordinate the event.
The 2014 event was a celebration of life with somber moments of reflection. There was a collective affirmation to continue the efforts to find a cure.
“They are augmented by another 50 or so people who represent the major teams participating in the relay. Most everyone is a survivor or a survivor-family member. I am an eleven-year survivor,” she said.
Frost is a potter and a member of the Cape Cod Roller Derby Team, a major participant in the Relay.
Bonnie Lincoln of Brewster prepared coffee and snacks for a May organizing meeting held at the Dennis Senior Center. “This is my 15th Relay. I am a survivor. Everyone does whatever needs to be done, including making coffee,” she said. “One of the other volunteers made the meatballs and the garlic knots, not me.”
Cyrina Kinaham of Marstons Mills is the people lead. She said, “I do all the recruitment of teams to participate in the Relay. I also organize the Survivor’s Dinner.”
Ashley Wills is the American Cancer Society area coordinator for this and other Relays on the Cape and Islands. “The fight never stops,” she said when asked about the reason for the overnight timing. “It’s symbolic.”
