Raising over $142,000 in the fight against cancer, residents of numerous Central Valley communities – including Oakdale and Riverbank – took part in the American Cancer Society’s 24-hour Relay For Life this past weekend at Johansen High School in Modesto.
This year’s theme was Carnival for a Cure and many of the teams offered up carnival games or carnival-themed food, while a special Kids Camp was set up to keep the youngest Relay attendees occupied. Music from several bands was featured on stage throughout the day and the event started with the Opening Ceremony at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 17 with activities continuing through Sunday morning, May 18.
Presenting sponsor for the 2025 event was Kaiser Permanente.
A prayer, the National Anthem, words from a guest speaker representing Kaiser and introductions of some dignitaries in attendance were all part of that ceremony, along with an update on progress made through ACS CAN, the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network, the legislative side of ACS.
Once the formal ceremony was concluded, all adjourned to the track at Johansen for the dove release, with a bagpiper then leading the cancer survivors on their first lap around the track. Members from the teams set up for Relay lined the track to blow bubbles at and cheer on the survivors with everyone joining in for lap two, officially kicking off the 24-hour event.
Cost Less Foods had a big presence and a very active team at Relay, and has stores in both Oakdale and Riverbank. Also on hand was the Target Team featuring some team members from the Riverbank location, along with representatives of the Oakdale-based ConAgra, which provided a sponsorship this year as well.
Much of the fundraising is done prior to the actual Relay For Life, but this year’s event also was hugely successful with on-site fundraising, accounting for several thousand dollars in the overall total.
And since it is a 24-hour event, the activities are virtually non-stop, with theme laps, contests, karaoke, live music and an on-site DJ.
There were 59 teams registered for the event and the majority had campsites set up around the track at Johansen. Top three teams in terms of fundraising were MLB, followed by Meet the Flockers and then Heart, Hope and Soul Sisters. There were more than 350 registered participants, with the individual top fundraisers including Kim Kauffman with MLB at the top of the list, followed by Brenda Machado with The Cure Guides and Monica Saucedo of Meet the Flockers.
