Relay for Life kick-off set for May 17

LAURINBURG — Relay for Life of Scotland County is kicking off in the next few weeks as organizers gear up for the first in-person Relay since 2019.

This year’s Relay will be on Friday, Oct. 7. The Relay kick-off is scheduled for May 17 at the First United Methodist Church fellowship hall.

Originally, the event was planned to be in the spring this year but organizers made the decision it would be safer for the community to push it to the fall.

“There are several factors; first while the public gatherings were picking back up, new COVID variants were still plaguing us,” said Relay Co-Chairman Stewart Thomas. “A huge part of Relay is our survivors and their personal journey and celebration. Many have been through a lot. Even though the event is outdoors, still subjected to large crowds. For the safety of our survivors, it was best to move back to fall. Further, we hoped COVID occurrences would lessen over time and both survivors and non-survivors would feel more comfortable participating if we moved the event back to the fall.”

Also different this year, the Relay is only Friday and it won’t go overnight. The weekend is already packed full of activities as the John Blue Cotton Festival will be going on Saturday.

Thomas added many people question where the money raised at Relay for Life goes to and how exactly it benefits the Scotland County community.

“I understand we need to invest in our community and focus on support here, ” Thomas said. “While its hard for many to understand, participating in Relay For Life is ultimately about investing in a huge problem both in Scotland County and around the world – bringing an end to cancer. People are primarily motivated by two things: Pleasure or Pain. Sadly enough many people don’t get encouraged to participate in Relay until a loved one is diagnosed with cancer.

Relay is about taking a proactive approach to saving the lives of loved ones,” Thomas continued. “And while we need to be concerned with care in Scotland County, if we could find more cures(once found, shared worldwide) we would be less reactive and not experience such pain.”

Thomas added that Relay helps with significant funding of grants at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Wake Forest Baptist and Eastern Carolina University to help make a huge difference in research.

“We want Relay to grow,” Thomas said. “More teams, more committee members. Please come to the kickoff on May 17 at 5:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall. Volunteers, team captains, or anyone who just wants to learn more; are all welcome.”

For more information on Relay for Life of Scotland County, contact Stewart or Carol Thomas at 910-521-6859 or go to www.relayforlife.org/scotlandnc.