Thank you, Relay For Life

Moses Lake's Relay for Life appeared well-attended, received good participation and even exceeded its $115,000 fundraising goal by $11,000.

The event was held at the Grant County Fairgrounds last weekend and attracted several people who walked in the overnight relay to help raise cancer awareness and funds.

Several teams, comprised of businesses and non business groups alike, organized themselves, raised funds and then turned out for the all-night event. The effort doesn't stop there.

Team booths are set up so volunteers have a place to rest throughout the day, visit, eat and camp overnight. And of course, there's effort involved with publicizing the event and ensuring all the details are correct.

Cancer is a horrible thing. It's taken so many individuals and families by storm, devastating their finances, health and lives. Some people survived and others haven't. Cancer survivors, families left behind and countless volunteers are the power behind Relay For Life. They take time aside from their full-time jobs to fundraise, meet weeks before the event, carve out time to keep their volunteer commitment and participate in the relay.

Doing so isn't always easy because life gets busy and complicated with work and family obligations. As we all know, with extra projects there can be setbacks and disappointments. People make mistakes and egos get bruised. It's how we handle the small stuff that sets the stage for life's bigger challenges.

In the case of Moses Lake's Relay For Life, anything that happened (or didn't happen) behind the scenes really didn't matter. The fundraising goal was met and surpassed and volunteers have a lot to be proud of. They set an awesome example for other groups hoping to present such an event.

Thank you, Relay For Life volunteers, for all your hard work and contributions to the fight against cancer.

- Editorial Board