A local high school is hosting its annual fundraising event.
St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic High School will host the 5th annual Relay For Life event on May 30.
Relay For Life is a fundraiser held by schools all over Canada, and is put on through the Canadian Cancer Society.
All funds raised go towards helping individuals who are currently battling, or who have battled cancer. Majority of the funds raised by the high school will stay local to help fund ride programs to and from treatments, hospital and hotel stays, a help hotline, and other resources.
The event consists of several fun activities, such as therapy dogs, inflatables, Dairy DeLite, and more. There will also be a survivor walk, and a luminary ceremony where the names of the students loved ones who have battled cancer will be written on the candle-lit track.
Sofia Borrowman, Grade 11 student at Villanova and participant chair of the Relay For Life event, says majority of the funds raised stay local.
"And they go towards funding ride programs to and from treatments for cancer patients, they provide funds to help hotlines, and a lot of other things for people who have battled or are battling cancer to access."
She says it's a party with a purpose.
"During the day you're having fun, but then at the end of the night we have our luminary ceremony which is where we all walk around together as a school community and we have the names of the people that we love who have battled cancer all around us. And that's when we really see that message, and what this all means, and what we're doing. So, that's really the impactful part of the night."
Borrowman says it's an emotional event.
"You see people who have lost people to cancer, and how it affects them, and we also have cancer survivors at our event and seeing how it affects them, seeing the community together. It's just really impactful, and it's a great message."
The event will run on Friday, May 30 from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The fundraising goal for this year is $60,000, and so far over $40,000 has been raised online. The link to donate can be found by clicking here.
In 2023 - the last time the event was held - the students surpassed their fundraising goal of $50,000 by raising over $72,000.