By Mike Russo
, hundreds of Valley Stream residents gathered at the North High School football field last Saturday to participate in the second annual Relay for Life.
District 13 is one of many area school districts that participates in the event, a fund-raiser that supports cancer awareness and research. Members of the American Cancer Society were on hand to help coordinate the event. Participants ate, played games and walked around North's track over the course of the day, which began at 4 p.m. and finished up at around 11 that night.
"It seems to be an event that the community really embraced," said Eddie Mouradian, the Cancer Society's director of special events. "I'm very, very happy. We had 800 ACS T-shirts and we're out of them. That just shows how many people came out in support."
According to Mouradian, whose aunt is a survivor of breast cancer, the Relay for Life also teaches children the value of supporting charities and getting involved in altruistic activities as youngsters. Fund-raising, he says, is as big as your imagination.
Nearly $61,000 was raised at the event, according to Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Lison. "The whole event ran very smoothly, as the Valley Stream community united together to support a good cause," Lison said. "I felt the same way I did last year when I looked around the crowd and knew that we not only made a difference in the lives of people with cancer, but we also were able to ease the pain of those who have loved ones touched by cancer and those who have lost friends and family to the disease."
There were several cancer survivors at the event, living proof of the progress of cancer research. Shelvey Crawford, a resident of Queens, was diagnosed with cervical cancer last October. She had surgery to remove it in December and was told she was in remission in March.
"It's the best news I could ever have gotten," she said. "Faith got me through it. I'm a firm believer in God. I went into the surgery with a positive attitude, and I knew I would come out with a positive outcome." Crawford added that one of the most positive aspects of Relay for Life is that it gives hope to others.
Eli Soblock, a survivor of melanoma, had surgery last winter on his nose and head. According to Soblock, the odds of surviving melanoma are very slim compared with other forms of cancer. He was happy to be participating in the event, which he described as "wonderful."
While Soblock was lucky enough to beat cancer, his sister, unfortunately was not. And his sister-in-law has been diagnosed with cancer as well. Soblock and his wife, Doris, are members of the Franklin Square Senior Center.
Chris Coen, walking with Korde Innis, whose father survived cancer, said that it felt really good to do something to make a difference. Coen and Innis are ninth-graders at Memorial Junior High and have taken part in the run at Jones Beach for multiple sclerosis.
Students at all four district elementary schools have been raising money to fight cancer since January. They rallied support through the schools and the PTA and by selling luminaria bags, which lined the sides of the track. Each one represented someone who had suffered from or survived cancer.
The American Cancer Society hosts more than 4,800 Relay for Life events throughout the U.S. By tradition, cancer survivors walk first, followed by teams made up of students, church members, co-workers, friends and family members. Each team tries to keep at least one member on the track at all times.
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Photos by Mike Russo/Herald
