Hundreds of students from Newmarket high schools relayed to raise funds last week for the Canadian Cancer Society, while honouring those who have lost their lives to cancer.
Students at Dr. J.M. Denison Secondary School and Sacred Heart Catholic High School took part in the hours-long Relay for Life event May 30 an 31 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
"I had a lot of cancer in my own family, which is why this event is so dear to my heart because I lost many people to cancer, but I also have many cancer survivors in my family," said Erin Young, a teacher at Denison. "I know the toll it takes on the person suffering and their family members who have to care for their sick family members."
Orianna Baird, a Grade 12 student at Denison and cancer survivor, had a malignant fibrous histiocytoma after doctors noticed she had a bump in her upper arm when she was only 11 years old.
"I was lucky with what I was diagnosed with," said Baird. "That form of cancer is not too common. That's why it took so long for them to find out what it was. I had to be sent to Toronto to figure it out. I'm lucky with what it was because it was a tumour, not something that spreads super quickly. I'm always thankful even if it was cancerous and a scary time."
Baird said it is essential for people to care for themselves and their health by getting regular checkups. On her father's side, eight out of 10 people have cancer or passed away from it.
"I think it's important to check up on yourself and see a doctor, but even without, look at your body," said Baird. "See if it is unusual. Monitor your health."
The society states nearly half of Canadians are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. It uses funds to provide groundbreaking research and a national support system for cancer patients, their caregivers and their families.
This year was Denison's 10th relay event. They had the event since 2010 but missed some years as the school's field was renovated. They raised $60,000 last year and plan to generate the same amount this year. Each student participating has raised a minimum of $100.
"It's amazing," said Young. "Our students are not paying that money. They are going out and raising that money. We had two teams that did activities. One did a lemonade stand several days in a row over a long weekend to raise money, and another team did a bake sale."
Madisyn Wood raised the most amount of money for Denison with $1,837.42. She placed a fundraising box near a cash restaurant of her parent's restaurant, Coop's in Holland Landing.
"I would ask all of our close customers and friends (to donate)," said Wood. "Since I work in the kitchen there, at the end of the night I would get a tip out. I would also put that in the box too which always helps."
She said she didn't get the opportunity to participate in an event last year. She wanted to join this year after noticing cancer affects her family as well.
"It's not the best feeling. It definitely sucks seeing people like that knowing there's not a lot they can do to help it, which is also why I wanted to raise a lot of money," said Wood.
A reception was held for 15 cancer survivors and their guests, and food was donated by Zucca's Catering, Cobs Bakery and St. Germaine Bakery.
Over the past decade, Sacred Heart has raised more than $800,000 through activities for the relay. They met their goal of $100,000 for this year, however, the faculty and students would like to exceed the goal and raise $1 million total over the school's 15 years of the event.
"In order to do that, we needed to raise $160,000 this year, and as of our phone call, we're approaching $150,000," said Danny Dilallo, principal of Sacred Heart to NewmarketToday last week. "We should be able to get to our goal and raise $1 million, and we've been told by the Canadian Cancer Society that we're one of the top schools in all of Canada for fundraising. That is a testament to the entire community, not just the students and staff but our partners, families, and people who live in the neighbourhood."
Sacred Heart began fundraising on Feb. 22. Students raised money in the community until the event. The event was on a hiatus due to the pandemic, but students and staff at Sacred Heart wanted to bring it back this year, noticing that cancer affects everyone. Dilallo finds students eager and ready to help others.
"We know cancer is something that affects everybody, even if it is not a personal illness someone is struggling with," said Dilallo. "Everybody has a family member or knows somebody that is impacted by cancer."
