{"id":307090,"date":"2021-10-11T23:09:44","date_gmt":"2021-10-11T13:09:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=307090"},"modified":"2022-05-13T19:31:34","modified_gmt":"2022-05-13T09:31:34","slug":"relay-celebrates-15-years-and-1-7m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2021\/10\/11\/relay-celebrates-15-years-and-1-7m\/","title":{"rendered":"Relay Celebrates 15 Years and $1.7m"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Committee chair Rowena Dionysius is amazed that the South Burnett Relay For Life has raised more than $1.7 million over the past 15 years<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Face Of Relay Sheva Butler shared her emotional journey ahead of the candlelight ceremony<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

October 11, 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 2021 South Burnett Relay For Life fundraising campaign has so far raised just over $72,500 for cancer research … an amazing effort considering the popular Dinner With The Captains had to be cancelled due to lockdowns.<\/p>\n

Even more amazing is the fact that Saturday’s main day at Kingaroy Showgrounds pushed the South Burnett’s total fundraising over the past 15 years to more than $1.7 million!<\/p>\n

South Burnett committee chair\u00a0Rowena Dionysius told southburnett.com.au <\/strong>it was incredible to realise local support for Relay had averaged about $113,000 a year.<\/p>\n

This year, 25 teams took part which meant about 400 participants, down on the usual figure of about 40 teams.<\/p>\n

However, Rowena is still hopeful the 2021 fundraising total could still push towards the $100,000 mark.<\/p>\n

Not all the money raised is in, and there is still an online auction – held to replace the Dinner With The Captains – which will be run on CROW-FM on November 19.<\/p>\n

The biggest single fundraising event this year was the Ride 4 Relay which raised almost $32,000 by itself.<\/p>\n

The “2021 Cancer Free Future” team – headed by Rowena – was the next most successful, raising more than $7200 and busting its $2000 target.<\/p>\n

Relay For Life raises funds for Cancer Council Queensland,\u00a0which uses the money for research, prevention, information and support services.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was emphasised on Saturday that Australia may have been in lockdown over the past 12 months but cancer hasn’t been.<\/p>\n

Tara Evans, from Cancer Council Queensland, told the crowd that one person is diagnosed with cancer in Queensland every 20 minutes.<\/p>\n

Thousands of people around Australia take part in Relay For Life events every year but they are more than just fundraisers.<\/p>\n

Relay also celebrates the lives of cancer survivors, supports people fighting cancer and honours those who have died.<\/p>\n

2021 South Burnett Face Of Relay Sheva Butler, from Wondai, shared her story from the stage.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sheva, who works as a teacher, was diagnosed with cancer in 2017, changing her world.<\/p>\n

“It’s really scary having cancer and as much as I tell everybody that I took it on the chin, I actually didn’t,” she said.<\/p>\n

She described the moments of sheer terror, the emergency helicopter flight when her family was told she might not make it, the rounds of chemotherapy, the drug reactions …<\/p>\n

“I’m here but nothing that I did is the reason that I am here. It was all the doctors that knew what to do.<\/p>\n

“The money that you guys are raising for Relay For Life and Ride 4 Relay all go towards that, so thank you.<\/p>\n

“Because if it wasn’t for people like you supporting this, the money wouldn’t be in the research and I might not be here today.<\/p>\n

“So thank you very much, guys, and give yourselves a clap.”<\/p>\n