By Karen Cornelius
Vermilion Relay For Life is returning to the city after a year’s absence when the event was merged with Erie County Relay for Life last year. The return by the American Cancer Society is exciting for Suzi Piskur, staff coordinator for this year’s benefit who knows the wonderful support the community has shown over the years.
Piskur held the first group meeting at Ritter Public Library on Monday night, January 8. At that time the event date was announced as Saturday, April 14, at Vermilion High School. The date was originally on March 24, but the high school musical was scheduled for that weekend. The time for the April event is from start at 3 p.m. to the opening ceremony at 4 p.m. and then the survivor reception. There will be a Luminaria Ceremony at dusk with the closing ceremony to follow. The event will end with the final lap of 2018 and the beginning of the lap into 2019. The event should be over by 1 p.m.
According to the minutes, at this meeting it was decided to continue meeting once a month on the second Monday of each month at 6 p.m. at the Ritter Library Endowment Room on the main floor by the elevator. The next meeting is scheduled for February 12 from 6-7 p.m. and then March 12 and April 9. Everyone interested is invited to attend.
Piskur announed that this year’s theme would be “Seeds of Hope.” She said the “Seeds of Hope” can be anything with flowers, gardening, veggies, etc. Teams can be creative and run with it. They are also creating a logo to use for the event that will incorporate the Sunflower with the slogan, “Believe It, Do It.” These two items will represent the loss of two amazing teachers from the Vermilion Local Schools.
Several fundraisers were additionally discussed at the meeting. There will be Daffodil Sales with 100 percent of the proceeds from the sales going directly back to the teams. Bunches are $10 for 10 flowers in a bunch; $15 for the mini-potted plant; and $10 for a Gift of Hope. On January 31 there will be a fundraiser called Painting with a Purpose held with the Relay For Life of Lorain County at Quaker Steak & Lube in Sheffield. It’s $35 per person with paint supplies, food, and non-alcoholic drinks and door prize entry. Any team or individual can join by contacting Suzi Piskur at suzan.piskur@cancer.org or calling at 1-888-227-6446. A Vermilion individual or team will get credit for any tickets they sell. On March 19 there will be CAVS tickets for sale with $12 of each ticket going back to a Vermilion team. On March 24 there will be Cleveland Monsters tickets for sale with $10, $8, or $5 going back to teams. There was also discussion about having some local fundraisers.
Vermilion Relay for Life is looking for teams. Those interested can sign up and register by going to http://www.relayforlife.org/vermilionoh. More detailed information about fundraisers and this year’s event can be found on a Facebook Page at American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Vermilion.
Piskur is looking forward to the next meeting on February 12 and hopes many more will join the effort and make Vermilion’s event a success. All are welcome.
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