Spring Valley Relays For Life

Residents from Spring Valley and neighboring communities gathered to celebrate cancer survivors, remember loved ones and fight back against cancer during at on Saturday and Sunday.

This is the first year volunteers organized a Relay for Life event to raise money for the American Cancer Society in Spring Valley.

“I was very excited to know that there was going to be a Spring Valley Relay for Life,” said Lisa Stewart, the Team Recruitment Chair of the nine-member Organizing Committee. “If we could once a year get together, walk laps and fight against cancer, that’s how we build community.”

There were 10 registered teams when the Opening Ceremony took place at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Each team was asked to have a representative walk on the field at all times during the 24-hour event.

Stewart, who was the captain of two teams, Neighbors for a Cure and Runnin Rebels, said she walked and volunteered for her mother-in-law, who is being treated for colon cancer.

“This is a way that I could help my mother-in-law who lives in Arkansas,” said Stewart, who lives in Spring Valley. “She’s not even local, but it helped me figure out how I can help her better.”

At the start of the relay, there were 68 participants, including 15 survivors.

“It’s great to see other people like us,” said Survivor Chair Christina Hicks, who is being treated for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Jackie Parfet, who won her battle against breast cancer, said she wanted to be involved because cancer has greatly impacted her life and the lives of her loved ones.

“I’m a survivor, and I can stand here and keep naming people who I’ve lost from cancer,” said Parfet, who headed the Thrivers team.

Teams raised money through sponsorships and other fundraisers held throughout the event. Some teams sold food and drinks, while other teams sold items such as balloons and glow-in-the-dark sticks.

Participants also engaged in various activities, in addition to walking laps around the field. Volunteers organized a film screening, a scavenger hunt, a yoga lesson and games for children.

Some of the highlights of the event included the ceremony and birthday party for survivors, as well as the Luminaria Ceremony, which were both held Saturday evening. During the Luminaria Ceremony, participants placed decorated, lit bags along the track to remember loved ones.

Parfet said it was important for her to engage in these activities and give back to the American Cancer Society because the organization has given so much to her. She said she has participated in the organization’s free programs such as the Look Good...Feel Better program, which teaches female cancer patients beauty tips to look better and feel good about how they look during chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

“They’re there, so I have no problem supporting them for other people who are walking the same walk that I have,” Parfet said.

Funds raised at the event will help fund free programs and services such as the Look Good...Feel Better program, as well as cancer research. Volunteers had already raised nearly $6,000 at the start of the Spring Valley event, which had a $24,000 goal.

Michelle Gonzales-Lopez, a manager and organizer of the Relay for Life event, said she was happy to help bring Relay for Life to Spring Valley for the first time.

“For us to be here participating and having people on our field, we are very happy,” Gonzales-Lopez said. “We’re small, but mighty.”

If you were unable to participate in Relay for Life of Spring Valley but would still like to donate, visit the relay's website.