Relay for Life events to merge

A Relay for Life event will not have a Colfax edition this year. Organizers of the Relay have decided to make a shift to combine the Whitman County and Pullman groups and host the event in Pullman.

“It will be for this year, for a while,” said Taylor Persello with the American Cancer Society in Spokane.

Persello said the move could be a permanent one, or it could be one that lasts just a couple of years.

“Sometimes things run their course, and you need to re-energize,” said Gail Webster, who formerly served on the Whitman County Relay for Life committee.

Persello said after last year’s Relay in Colfax, the committee decided it was time for the change.

“At the wrap up, the committee kind of said ‘we’re tired, we want to take a break,’” she said. “We were struggling to find more people in the community to volunteer.”

Relay for Life Whitman County ran in Colfax for 22 years, said Webster. In 2015, the committee said that year would be the last one for the long-time event, as the committee did not have enough volunteers.

Following the 2015 edition, there was a revamp of the event for 2016, and the committee was able to reach 12 people.

“That was the largest committee here there had been in a number of years,” said Persello. She noted, though, that the majority of the committee was made up of people who had already served on it for several years and were looking for more help to strengthen the event.

“A break might be good,” said Webster.

Last year, Pullman’s Relay for Life was also revamped. The community there and Washington State University combined for the event.

“Last year was the first year we really incorporated a lot more community teams in Pullman,” said Persello. “There was a lot more community presence than it had in the past.”

Pullman’s Relay last year had 45 teams, while the Whitman County relay had 11 teams.

“They have 20 to 30 new teams each year,” said Persello.

Persello said the event lead in Pullman, Cheyenne Wong, would like to reach out to the community here to involve people in the committee.

Last year’s Whitman County edition actually raised more money than the Pullman edition, though Pullman’s had more people. Persello said they are now hoping to combine the two to make an even more successful event.

“You guys have a lot more sponsorship here, and while we do see more income here, there was a lot more participation there,” she said.

Persello and Webster said that Laurie Gronning from Whitman Hospital is heading up a team from Whitman County this year called “Whitman Walkers.” Anyone is welcome to join that team.

Whitman Walkers has already raised around $500, they added, and fundraisers will likely be planned leading up to Relay.

Funds raised during Relay for Life events go to the American Cancer Society to help with three cancer resource centers in Spokane, information and support for patients, lodging support for patients and families, a patient navigator program and one-on-one support for resources, among other things, Persello said.

“In 2015, the American Cancer Society helped more than half of all newly-diagnosed cancer patients in the Spokane area of service,” said Persello, noting that Whitman County is included in that number, as most cancer patients here travel to Spokane for treatments.

The 2017 Relay for Life WSU & Whitman County edition will be held on Saturday, April 1, from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. at the Grimes Play Field on the WSU campus. Persello said the committee is working with WSU parking services to ensure parking for the event. The theme this year is “Carnival for a Cure.”

To sign up or to donate to Relay, go to relayforlife.org/wsuwhitmanwa. For more information, contact Persello or Wong

Persello: 509-242-8303; taylor.persello @cancer.org

Wong: 253-549-5731