Tim Leeds Havre Daily News tleeds@havredailynews.com
Despite a lower number of participants and a smaller amount of money raised, organizers of the Hill County Relay for Life are pleased with the results of the fundraiser, held Saturday and Sunday at the Havre High School practice football field. “Many people contributed to the ceremonies. We feel very good about the event,” said Jerry Vandersloot, co-chair of the Hill County Relay for Life organizing committee. The Relay for Life raises money for cancer research by the American Cancer Society and also honors cancer survivors and those who have died from the disease and promotes awareness of the disease and the need for research and treatment. Vandersloot said preliminary figures show the relay raised about $28,230 in cash donations. About $7,000 of that was through corporate sponsorships and the remainder was through team fundraising, he said. Sue Swan, former co-chair of the committee, said 41 cancer survivors walked in the event. The total number of walkers was not available this morning. People bought 567 luminaries to honor people with cancer. The luminaries were lit with candles and placed around the field to burn through the night. Many businesses also provided in-kind donations, including Patrick Construction supplying portable toilets, KOJM-KPQX radio and the Havre Daily News providing promotion, Rock Solid supplying sand and Havre Rental providing a canopy. Vandersloot said the committee estimates inkind donations were worth about $5,000. He said lower numbers of participants was offset by higher fundraising. “Our team numbers were down some but the teams we had raised a significant amount of money,” he said. He added that the organizational committee plans to try some changes to increase participation. “Next year, we are going to move the relay to a weekend in July hoping to get more people and organizations involved,” Vandersloot said
