Dearborn's Relay for Life Coming Up Saturday

The Dearborn Relay for Life event, benefiting the American Cancer Society, will take place beginning Saturday on the grounds of the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center.

Starting at 10 a.m., individuals and teams will walk for 24 hours around a designated track, raising money to benefit cancer research, as well as programs for cancer victims and their families.

"Relay is an amazing night when we all work together to fight back against cancer," event chairwoman Alysia Schuler said. “We invite the public to come out and spend time with our teams that will camp out and walk the track for 24 hours."

Schuler said some of this year's highlights include the opening ceremony celebrating survivors and caregivers at 10 a.m., and a candlelight luminaria ceremony, remembering loved ones who died at 10 p.m., both on April 27.

"Cancer is a disease that affects one in four families, according to the American Cancer Society. But there is hope. There are more than 11 million Americans celebrating their birthdays this year, in spite of a cancer diagnosis, thanks to the progress being made in the fight against cancer," Schuler said.

"The Relay For Life of Dearborn supports the American Cancer Society's mission to save lives by helping people stay well, by helping people get well, by finding cures and by fighting back. This inspiring overnight event unites the entire Dearborn community in the common goal of creating a world with less cancer and more birthdays," she said.

In addition to the relay, the event will include live music, family-friendly games, activities, and food. Other events include karaoke; a bubble gum blowing contest at midnight; a frozen T-shirt contest at 2:30 a.m. Sunday; and shopping cart races at 5:30 a.m.

So far, there are 47 teams and 471 participants registered who have raised $70,800 for the ACS.

This year the city of Dearborn is honoring several of its employees affected by cancer, including:

• Diane Atkins, Senior Services Division, one-day travel coordinator. Diane is a multiple cancer survivor: soft tissue sarcoma, 32-year survivor; breast cancer, 26-year survivor; uterine cancer, 24-year survivor; second bout of breast cancer, 13-year survivor; and bladder cancer, three-year survivor.

• Cindy Grimwade, Economic and Community Development, senior economic development assistant, endometrial cancer, one-year survivor.

• Dee Dee Kemp-Jarrett, Housing Department, housing coordinator, Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, 30-year survivor.

• Craig Andrew Schuler, Department of Public Information/City of Dearborn Television, broadcast media specialist, skin cancer, 7-year survivor.

• Kathryn Takach, librarian, Hodgkin’s Lymphoma-Stage IV, 23-year survivor.

• Elizabeth Weyer-Utley, Henry Ford Centennial Library, librarian II, technical services supervisor, breast cancer, one-year survivor.

For more information about the Relay for Life, visit www.relayforlife.org/dearbornmi for a full schedule of events and activities.