Relay for Life Facts & Figures

Twenty-six years ago, Dr. Gordy Klatt decided to do something to stop the pain, suffering, and loss from cancer.  He ran around a track in Tacoma, Washington for 24 hours, symbolizing what patients and caregivers endure while fighting cancer.  He asked for support from people he knew, resulting in $27,000 raised for cancer research, and the Relay For Life was born!

Today, there are 4 million people who participate in Relays around the globe, and Relay activities take place in 6,000 locations.  We relay at tracks, stadiums, parks, airports, prisons, beaches, museums, corporate campuses, schools, malls, college campuses, online...even at base camp on Mt. Everest.  And, man's best friend has joined in the action with Bark For Life events. 

In 2011, we added Belgium and Zambia to the Relay Movement, becoming #20 and #21 of countries involved around the globe.  Over the past 26 years, we've raised over $4 BILLION towards cancer research.  But we can do even better.  "There's no such thing as too many candles" one Relay for Life t-shirt reads.  How true.

Did you know...

• There are 5,146 Relay events in the US alone?
• There are 870 Relay events internationally?
• There are 487 College Against Cancer chapters active across the US?

2011 saw more than 7,000 canines bring their owners to 260 Bark For Life events to raise $500,000.  Forty million households have at least one dog, and Bark For Life events provide an opportunity to engage a new volunteer base for our future Relay events. 

Corporations created 7,189 teams with almost 72,000 participants.  In 2011, $17.5 million was raised by our corporate teams.  The following companies comitted to 50 teams or 500 participants:

Walmart, Walgreens, Curves, Best Buy, Starbucks, PartyLite, Target, Maurices, Bank of America, Delta Airlines, State Farm Insurance, Tastefully Simple, Sam's Club, HCA Healthcare, Fred Meyer, Dressbarn, Kroger Family of Stores, Anytime Fitness, UnitedHealthcare, Liberty Tax Service, Lockheed Martin, Nucor Steel, AT&T, MetLife, COUNTRY Financial, Aaron's, United Technologies Corporation, Rolls-Royce, Allstate, American Airlines, Century 21, United Community Bank, UPS, Abbott Laboratories, Apex Systems, GEICO, Quest Diagnostics, CNH, El Paso Corporation, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Tyson Foods, AGLA, Booz Allen Hamilton, KPMG, Wolters Kluwer, Wellpoint, Hewitt, JELD-WEN, JBS, Staples, Purolator, and Kraft Foods. 

In addition to adding Belgium and Zambia to our international events, we also found that uniting over cancer helped to provide hope after the tsunami in Japan.  Even though the country was still reeling from the natural disaster, the Japan Cancer Society decided to continue with their events in Miyagi and Fukushima.  If that isn't inspirational, I don't know what is. 

I've attached the full .PDF file of Facts & Figures.  They may be helpful with your fundraising, recruiting, or general planning needs. 

**Today is Purple Friday at The ACS Gift Shop. Take 20% off all your favorite Relay For Life gear.  The discount will be applied at checkout.** 

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook! You can also reach the website at http://www.relaybridgewater.org/ or email us at relaybridgewater@gmail.com.