Published: June 11, 2009 01:33 pm      

Floyd County Relay for Life team comes back big

Green Valley squad raises more than $3K for Floyd County event

The Green Valley Elementary School Relay for Life team came back with a vengeance this year, raising more than $3,000 for the Floyd County event.

“It’s been awhile since Green Valley has had a relay team, so that’s why they [Floyd County Relay for Life] asked,” said Julie Wilson, team captain for the school. “They are trying to get all the schools involved.”

Once they were asked, it didn’t take long for Green Valley to start collecting funds. The 17 members of the team and others held numerous fundraisers, such as a chili dinner, Hat Day, Lunch with a Teacher, and cookie and popcorn sales.

All of these activities got the students of the school involved and raised money for Relay for Life. Team member Barb Byrne raised about $150 for the chili dinner she held, and said it was team work that was the key to the team’s success.

“Everybody contributed,” Byrne said. “Everyone had a project they did. We all have a positive attitude and like to work together.”

Because the team had been out of the relay scene for some time, there were questions as to what kind of goals to set for the team.

“Since we had never done this, we didn’t have any idea,” Wilson said. “So our goal was to raise $2,000 and we went over that.”

Being asked to participate was not the only reason the elementary school started a team.

“Everyone knows someone, rather it be family or friends, who have gone through the journey of battling cancer,” Wilson said. “My father passed away about four years ago, and once they found out he had cancer, it was just a matter of weeks.”

The team’s top money raiser, Brieanne Fleming, a former Green Valley Elementary School student, got involved because she lost a loved one to cancer, too. The 22-year-old raised more than $2,000 by going door-to-door and collecting money outside of Wal-Mart.

“I lost my dad last May,” Fleming said. “I want to make sure no one else has to go through what I went through at such a young age.”

These losses and Relay for Life’s cause are bringing the Green Valley team back next year with the intent of raising even more money for relay.

“We hope to continue on and help fight the battle of cancer,” Wilson said.



ABOUT AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY

• The American Cancer Society is a nationwide, community-based voluntary health organization. Headquartered in Atlanta, the society has state divisions and more than 3,400 local offices.