Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life

The Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life is a celebration of survival and a tribute to the lives of loved ones who have been touched by cancer.

In 2008, for the first time in its history, Relay For Life raised more than $50 million for cancer research, and information and support services.

Live the Relay experience
To help make Relay For Life an even bigger success in 2009, the Society has partnered with Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado. The Society’s new Relay promotional videos feature Nelly’s song Forca to motivate people to participate in this inspiring event. You can view the videos here.

Join together with your community for 12 hours of fun, friendship and fundraising to beat cancer. Experience the excitement of being part of the largest nationwide fundraising event. Staying up all night never felt better.

To learn more about Relay For Life and how you can get involved and make a difference in your community, visit the Relay For Life website.

Canadians Celebrate, Remember, Fight Back and raise $50.8 million to fight cancer
Since the first Relay For Life event in Canada in 1999, which raised $85,000, the number of events and participants has increased each year. In 2008, a milestone was celebrated when more than $50 million was raised.

We salute the thousands of Canadians who have made Relay a successful and inspiring event. Their efforts have truly made a difference in the fight against this disease that touches so many of us.
Canadians from coast to coast have come together to celebrate survivors, remember loved ones and fight back against the disease while raising vital funds for the Society’s mission. In 2008:

451 Relay For Life events took place across Canada
Over 200,000 Canadians participated in this year’s events making up 18,883 Relay teams
36,415 participants celebrated survival in this year’s Relay

The inspiring community-based event is an overnight non-competitive relay and involves teams of 10 people who take turns walking, running or strolling around a track. Teams consist of individuals representing corporations, neighbourhoods, families and friends. They camp out on the grounds of the track, enjoying entertainment and camaraderie.

Participating in Relay – Michel Grégoire
The positive energy is palpable as Michel Grégoire speaks about how he became team captain organizer for the Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay For Life in his town of St.-Georges-de-Beauce, Québec.

Grégoire’s unbridled enthusiasm helps to explain how his community of 30,000 managed to raise an astounding $168,000 in last year’s Relay For Life. Having originally planned for 20 to 25 teams, Grégoire ended up with an impressive 72.

Grégoire is well-acquainted with life’s monumental curveballs. His first wife died of cancer in 1987 when she was just 25. Almost 19 years later to the day, his second wife also died of the disease, leaving the car dealership manager to raise their 10-year-old son, Francis.

“Both my wives got very good care, but it was still not enough,” says Grégoire. “Knowing that a goal of Relay is research made me get involved … I’m working for my son’s future and the future of others.”

Last modified on: 09 December 2009