MAYORAL MINUTE NO. 6/2017 HILLS RELAY FOR LIFE
23 MAY 2017
Councillors,
Thousands of Hills Shire residents came together at the Hills Relay for Life on Saturday, May 20 and Sunday, May 21 with one common goal – to raise money for cancer
research.
Banding together, dressed in Relay gear and fancy costumes, friends and family
members walked, ran, danced and skipped hand-in-hand around Castle Hill Showground for the annual fundraiser, now in its sixteenth year.
Relay is an incredibly moving event which is held over a 24-hour period, taking participants on a life-affirming journey and symbolising a day in the life of a person fighting cancer – a disease that never sleeps.
As always, the community spirit on display was inspiring. The commitment of attendees is only surpassed by the stellar effort of the Organising Committee in staging the event.
Close to 100 teams, including many of my fellow Councillors, have thus far raised
$207,399.76 for the Cancer Council this year, with funds still being added to the total every day.
And this year, Relay for Life has marked an exceptional milestone. The cumulative total of all funds raised over the past 16 years has now reached more than $4 million dollars.
This is an extraordinary and significant achievement from this event and for our community.
I want to thank everyone who has made a contribution to the Hills Relay for Life either through a donation, volunteer work or via their attendance. Your loyalty enables the Cancer Council to save lives and help people get well and stay well – and it will contribute significantly as we work to identify better treatments and ultimately find a cure
Relay for Life is punctuated by a candlelight ceremony which allows us, as a community, to pause and to remember those who have lost their cancer battle. Relay also allows us the opportunity to celebrate the thousands of cancer survivors in this country – and the survivors here with us now – and acknowledges the progress we have made in the fight to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. The many survivors in our community are a testimony to the progress we’ve made in cancer treatments, and it gives us hope that a cure for cancer might not just be a dream, but will hopefully soon be a reality.
While each Relay participant has their own reasons for supporting the event, everyone there had one common bond – the desire to make a difference in the fight against cancer.
As a community, Relay for Life allows us to stand together to support those fighting cancer, and to remember those who have sadly lost their battle. It unifies us under a single hope - that one day, through our combined efforts, no one will have to hear those dreadful words “you have cancer” ever again.
Congratulations to every Relay for Life Organising Committee members from the past 16 years. You have achieved the extraordinary. Please keep going. Your community is not only proud of you, we are right behind you.
MOTION:
Accordingly I move that:
1. This Mayoral Minute be received.
2. Council to write a letter of congratulations to The Hills Relay for Life Organising Committee.
Councillor Yvonne Keane MAYOR
