2015 Relay for Life Colton Paints the Town Survivor Purple

If you were a betting man, you may have put some money down that this year’s Colton Relay for Life would have been called off due to rain. Friday morning, May 15, saw heavy showers in the area that brought wet streets and snow to the surrounding mountains, but Friday evening without fear or fail, the area Warriors against Cancer were out in full force at the Colton High School Football Stadium to set up tables, pop ups, tents, cots all in preparation of the 11th Annual Relay for Life Colton on Saturday, May 16. With clear weather, a nice cool day full of clouds on Saturday brought over 70 teams and approximately 6,000 walkers to the stadium, all decked out in colorful team shirts while they participated in a 24 hour, around-the-clock Walk for the Cure. The event began at 8 a.m. Saturday with breakfast served to cancer survivors, and then at 9 a.m. the official Relay began with the Survivor Lap. All the survivors wore purple tee shirts and carried purple balloons to release at the beginning of their walk. The teams on the sidelines cheered as the survivors walked by, honoring those who had made it through tough circumstances. Teams camped out in tents next to their cancer fundraiser easy-ups sales and raffle displays on Colton High School’s beautiful turf dirt-free football and tract field with 24-hour music, planned activities for all ages and donated meals for survivors and caregivers. The event was well supported by the mayor, city council and other civil servants. The Relay for Life in Colton has been a mainstay in the Colton community for eleven years, and each year seems to grow bigger and bigger. About 8,000 come to the night time Luminaria, which is a unique celebration of those who have survived cancer and those who have passed because of the disease. Team members invested $10 to $20 toward a cure to receive a luminary bag to place names on to light the track for the 9 p.m. solemn walk in the dark for those in treatment, remission or eternity. One walker, Darlene Petersen, walked for Sarah, a mother of five in stage 4 cancer; Debbie, a widow relative in stage 4; Cathy, a pastor’s wife in remission; Richard, a church layman on chemotherapy; and 16-year-old Zac, who lost his 7-month battle with cancer in April. Christina Lucero of Rialto and Faustino Chavez of Redlands were members of team Tigger’s Angels, and they were walking in memory of Frances Montaño who had passed this year from a rare form of sarcoma. From Team Micki’s Miracles, Maureen Martinez dropped by each booth dressed in a colorful get up that put a smile on everyone’s face. Esteban and Karina Martinez from ProShop Automotive at 1444 N. La Cadena in Colton, brought out their entire staff and family to be a part of the Relay for Life Colton this year. They had supported teams in the past, but this year decided to have their own team in order to enjoy the full experience. Randy Rivera, Event Chairperson remembered the Relay at its inaugural year, having been held that year at Chavez Park in the baseball field with a few teams getting about $12,000 altogether. Rivera pointed out that to date, Colton Relay for Life has donated over $750,000 to the American Cancer Society for cancer research. “For the size of our city, it’s amazing to have that much involvement in something like this,” said Rivera. He also shared that the Colton Relay for Life has been awarded two honors from the American Cancer Society, one for being among the Top 10 Best Relays in the United States, and the other for being number one in our nation for garnering over 1,000,000 participants and providing “The Power of Hope”. “This is the result of total community involvement, Relay is completely a community wide effort,” said Rivera, “And this year, we’re going to see a bigger involvement by the City with police presence and support from the fire department. We have been told they will base a command center here, do patrols and walk the track with the teams. Just as Mayor Richard Delarosa said, this is the biggest event of the year for Colton.” As the last lap took place, the numbers showed about 1529 participants and 71 teams have raised $106,411 this year for the American Cancer Society. As more monies trickle in before the closing of the 2015 campaign, there is high hope that the Colton Relay for Life will hit its goal of $125,000 in donations. You can check out the Relay for Life and get information about cancer resources at http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLCY15CA?pg=entry&fr_id=68423, or get information about the event at their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RelayForLifeColton?fref=ts.