The 2013 Relay for Life event has come and gone, and organizer Alaina Fryer says she is thrilled with the overall results.
“We have $21,495 so far, and when the last few corporate donations come in, we should have $23,000 or more, which is incredible for a community this size,” she says, adding this is a huge leap over last year’s total of $13,000.
“I am very happy with everything. This year, everything just seemed to work.”
There were 21 teams registered, and definitely more people on site than last year. Fryer estimates that throughout the day there were easily 300 to 500 people in 100 Mile House's Centennial Park.
She says the most successful part of the day was just seeing everyone coming down and showing their support and seeing the community involvement in this town. It was great to see everyone come together and participate in the day.
The luminaries were also extremely successful with more than 150 sold. The creek was lined from bridge to bridge, with the last candle going out at 3 a.m.
At the moment, Fryer says the only changes for next year's rally would definitely be getting started earlier in the year, and having more people on the organizing committee. “If we had more people on the committee a lot more could be done. It would be nice to have more people in charge of specific things, like the luminary and money.”
With only a half dozen volunteers in place at specific jobs, it was a hectic and exhausting day for them, she explains.
“I love doing it. It was very successful and feels like we made a difference; the money we raised will help someone.”
As for next year's relay, Fryer is non-committal about chairing the committee at this point in time.
“We’ll have to see as we get closer to the date, but I would love to be involved again next year.”