Lucas Secondary School students raise more than $125k in their own Relay For Life

Some 700 students took to the track at A.B. Lucas Secondary School in North London, Ont. Friday to take part in a student led Relay For Life.

The event is a major fundraiser for cancer programs.

“Our biggest event of the year and we haven’t had it since pre-COVID and we’re just glad to have it back here,” said grade 12 student Manuel Garcia, a co-chair of the event.

“We hit our goal of $125,000, and actually exceeded that amount,” added grade 11 student Rheanna Beauerman, also a co-chair. “So we’re very happy with our results this year. We are loving to raise even more as the day continues.”

Kevin Birball, a spokesperson for the Canadian Cancer Society, said it’s great to see students stepping up.

“It just goes to show you how much cancer has impacted everyone,” he said. “All these students are out here for that one cause, and I’m sure a majority of them at one time in their life could find that connection to cancer, whether it’s their immediate family, maybe a friend they’re here on behalf of, and they’ve lost someone to cancer. And it really just goes to show you that the leaders of tomorrow are still passionate about causes like this, and it’s great to see.”

The event featured teams of ten, with members taking turns doing laps around the track. There were also team-building activities like karaoke, dancing, and tug-of-war.

“Every activity you see, every food, every paint, it all comes from the students, we’ve organized everything,” said Garcia. “We have huge support from our community as well,” added Beauerman. “We’ve had many families from our community, survivors and everyone come on out and support the great cause.”