Lasagna dinner to benefit Relay for Life®
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ Continuing an annual tradition, the Sparkling SparTils Relay for Life® team will host a lasagna dinner to benefit the American Cancer Society (ACS). The dinner will be held 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 21 at Sparta Eagles at 112 E. Main Street in Sparta. In addition to lasagna, the meal includes salad, bread, beverage and brownie sundaes. The cost is: adults $7.00, children 5-12 years $3.50. Additional donations are welcomed. Circle of Hope bracelets will also be available for sale.
The dinner is one of the ways the team raises funds to support the ACS's many cancer-related causes. Most of the team members are involved because they have been touched by cancer either personally or through a friend or family member. In addition to preparing and serving the dinner, the team members, who are from the Sparta and Tilden area, also sell raffle tickets for a handmade quilt and collect money at a "bucket brigade" at downtown Sparta intersections as well as request donations from friends, family and businesses.
The Randolph County Relay for Life® event, a Celebrate More Birthdays, is a fun-filled, overnight event that mobilizes communities to celebrate survivors (anyone who has ever been diagnosed with cancer), remember loved ones and raise money for the fight against cancer. The 12-hour event will be held at the Sparta Airport beginning at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, May 14. The event is held overnight to represent the fact that cancer never sleeps. Teams of eight to 15 members gather with tents and sleeping bags with the goal of keeping one person on the track walking at all times. Relay for Life® brings together friends, families, businesses, hospitals, schools, churches...people from all walks of life.
Relay for Life opens as cancer survivors take the first lap. This emotional time sets the stage for the importance of each participant's contribution. A festive atmosphere always develops as participants make new friends and spend time with old ones. Highlighting the evening is a luminaria Ceremony of Hope held after dark to honor cancer survivors and to remember loved ones lost to cancer. The lighted luminaria candles line the track to remind participants of the incredible importance of their contributions.
The American Cancer Society is dedicated to eliminating all forms of cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and diminishing the suffering from cancer through research, education, advocacy and service.
For additional information about the lasagna dinner or to make a donation, contact the team captain, Jan Weiner, at 443-3132. For information on Relay for Life® or to make an online donation at the secure website, go to www.relayforlifeofrandolphcounty.com. Information and support relating to cancer is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by calling 800-ACS-2345 or online at www.cancer.org.