ILMS to host local Mini-Relay for Life

Although Lancaster County’s Relay for Life is scheduled for May 6-7, a group of Indian Land residents hope to raise the stakes this year with a Mini-Relay for Life of their own scheduled for May 14.
In preparation for the event, the group will hold a team meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 21, at Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church. The church is located at 238 Fort Mill Highway (S.C. 160), across from Lowe’s Home Improvement.
Organizer Amanda Carnes said the event will be an extension of Lancaster County’s Relay for Life and is intended to help organize more teams from the Indian Land area.
“I’ve been involved with Relay for Life in Lancaster County going on my third year, and there have only been a few teams from Indian Land to participate in the all-night event,” Carnes said.
“So a few of us decided we would try to do one in Indian Land to get this area more active.”
Carnes said she’s received commitments from five to seven teams, but needs more since the group’s goal is to have at least 10 teams participate.
The teams will walk around the “horseshoe” in front of Indian Land Middle School from 5 to 11 p.m. May 14.
Like at the traditional Relay for Life event, the teams will decorate their tents according to a theme and raise money to support Lancaster County’s Relay for Life efforts.
Since the teams will need to register with Lancaster County Relay for Life, Carnes said they will be allowed to participate in both events and display corporate sponsorship signs at both.
The Indian Land Mini-Relay, however, will have a twist on Relay’s traditional luminary ceremony to honor cancer survivors and loved ones lost to the disease.
“We’re going to put canned food in the luminaries to weigh them down with instead of sand,” Carnes said. “Afterward, the canned food is going to a local food bank at Belair United Methodist Church.”
Carnes said during Monday’s meeting, teams will learn how to register, what to expect and how to go about raising funds.
She said just as important as increasing the number of Indian Land teams is the message of solidarity she hopes the event will convey to those suffering from cancer in Indian Land.
“I want to make people aware of those in the community who have cancer or have been affected by cancer,” Carnes said. “And I want to let those who are fighting cancer know that this community is here to support them through their battle.
“We encourage anyone who is interested to come to the meeting,” she said.
For details, e-mail Carnes at acarnes05@gmail.com. To register your team, visit www.relayforlife.org/lancastersc.