LOVELOCK - The Lovelock Relay for Life teams had set a goal of raising $25,000 this year, but low attendance at the overnight event contributed to a lower amount of donations. The event, held July 26 at Joe Yanni Field, brought in $2,597.
Other fundraising efforts throughout the year brought in $7,633 prior to the July event for a total of $10,230.
Relay Co-chair Valaree Olivas said she was still happy with that amount.
There is still time to help raise money for the fight against cancer. The Relay for Life has a triathlon scheduled for Aug. 4, a Sunday morning at 7 a.m. at the Lovelock Frontier Days. Olivas said the group will also have a booth selling T-shirts and other Relay memorabilia during the Frontier Days event.
Despite the weather during the overnight event, participants were not detoured from their mission of honoring survivors and remembering those who did not survive their fight with cancer.
"We had wind, dust, wind, rain, wind, thunder, wind, lightning and wind," Olivas said. "The winds did die down around two in the morning, then the weather was beautiful."
Some participants were there to support members of their family and friends.
"We come for our friends, the Gutierrezes. We want to help find a cure for cancer. I want it to go away," said Maria Perez, who came from Reno to support her friends during the overnight event.
Vicky Silva, a Mary Kay distributor from Reno, came to Lovelock to support her friends in the Peace Keepers team. She sold Mary Kay during the overnight event and donated all her proceeds to help the team raise money.
"This is such a wonderful event and cause. Cancer to me is one of the scariest things to deal with. There are so many types of cancer you can get. My wish is to wipe it out and this is one way I can help," Silva said.
Stage and clinical hypnotist Dan Kimm donated his time to entertain the attendees of the event with his Reno stage show, Hypnot!c.
"I lost my mom to cancer and I've been donating my time to Relay for Life for over seven years," Kimm said.
In addition to working for a cruise line doing his show, Kimm also served as the entertainment coordinator for the Carson City Relay for Life. He also has a clinical practice where he helps people stop smoking, lose weight and manage pain, he said.
Cancer has impacted Kimm's life immensely, he said. He has had close friends and friends of close friends die of cancer.
"I'm not smart enough to be a doctor. But if my show touches the heart of someone else, maybe they will give that extra dollar that makes a difference," Kimm said.
Everyone has their own reason for why they participate in Relay. It is personal to each person.
Coco Gutierrez, whose 3-year-old son Louie was diagnosed last August with childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia, has volunteered to become the co-chair of next year's event, along with Valaree Olivas.
- See RELAY, Page 14 -
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"My goal is that my children's children wont have to worry about cancer," Gutierrez said.
She said that she does see how the American Cancer Society helps people from seeing what her son has been through in the past year. He will have to continue treatments for the next three years, she said.
"That's why I want to be involved," she said. "You don't realize until you have a close friend or family member going through chemo or other treatments. It does help."
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