On Saturday, April 23, from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m., the community will come together at Fountain Park for the annual Relay for Life of Fountain Hills. This event is a part of the Relay for Life 2016 season that will host more than 35 events in the Phoenix metro area.

Individuals, families, businesses, churches and groups of all kinds are invited to participate in Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society’s signature fundraising event.

Relay for Life events are community events where teams and individuals camp out at a school, park, or fairground and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team has at least one participant on the track at all times and participates in fundraising in the months leading up to the event. Individuals and teams raise funds and awareness to help the American Cancer Society save lives.

“With so many great Relay for Life events in the Valley and throughout the state, there is an opportunity for all Arizonans, no matter where they live, to get involved,” explained Danielle Downs, senior manager for Relay for Life.

“Each community really makes it their own, including themes that range from 80’s throwbacks to Hollywood glamour. There’s a reason Relay for Life is the world’s largest fundraising event – it’s great fun for an even better cause.”

Since starting more than 30 years ago, funds raised through Relay for Life have supported groundbreaking cancer research, as well as community-based education and prevention programs, and critical services for people facing cancer.

The American Cancer Society is the largest nonprofit funder of cancer research and has contributed to nearly every major cancer research breakthrough in recent history. In fact, 47 researchers who have been funded by the American Cancer Society have gone on to win the Nobel Prize. Their innovative work discovering treatments and cures is allowing more people than ever to survive a cancer diagnoses.

Thanks largely to funds raised through Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society offers a variety of resources to help individuals and families. For example, cancer patients who need to travel for cancer treatment may find the cost of extended lodging a barrier.

To ensure patients get the treatment they need, the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge in Phoenix provides free lodging each year; in 2015, cancer patients and their caregivers received more than 2,230 free nights at Hope Lodge.

Last year in Arizona, the Society provided 2,459 free rides to cancer treatment for patients who otherwise had no way to get there and helped 720 women with appearance-related side effects of cancer treatment. If you or someone you know needs resources related to a cancer diagnosis, call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.

Anyone interested in participating or sponsoring the Relay for Life of Fountain Hills can contact Lois Nuthals, Fountain Hills Relay Event Coorinator, at fhrelay16@cox.net or 920-655-2624 or Jane Hahn, American Cancer Society Staff Partner, at jane.hahn@cancer.org or 602-586-7402.

Visit our website at relayforlife.org/fountainhillsaz for additional information.