Yorktown Unites to Raise Awareness for Relay for Life
Barney was nowhere in sight, but everything else was purple, and white, in Yorktown Friday to raise awareness for the annual Relay for Life event on June 14.
Jane McCarthy, co-organizer of Yorktown’s fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, shouted “Purple power, purple power!” as motorists stopped on Commerce Street to drop money into fireman’s boots, which for a short time were handled by Supervisor Michael Grace.
“This is a great community and nothing symbolizes it more than this event,” said Grace, a cancer survivor. “This Relay for Life I consider an act of prayer. It’s so important. It’s healing.”
The first Relay for Life in Yorktown in 2006 raised $64,000. In 2011, the most successful yet, $297,000 was raised. Monica Garrigan, a Yorktown resident and senior director of special events for the American Cancer Society, said the goal this year is $300,000. So, far 89 teams have signed up to participate at Jack DeVito Field behind the Yorktown Community and CulturalCenter.
“The town has really embraced it. The make it so easy to make it a successful event,” Garrigan said. “People look forward to this as much as the event. We’re trying to get to our best year ever and we think we can do it. We all want to put an end to this disease.”
Garrigan said any money raised from passing drivers is “a fabulous added bonus” to the real goal, which is to bring attention to Relay for Life next month.
“There’s no place like Yorktown,” said McCarthy, repeating the Wizard of Oz-like theme of this year’s event, which came about from rainbows that lit up the skies overhead the YCCC a year ago.
Last weekend also featured other fundraisers for Relay for Life, namely an historic home tour in town and Yorktown’s version of The Voice.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
