Debby Belyea didn't go bald, but the 2010 Thompson Relay for Life was still a success, raising about $10,000 more in cash than last year's event and more than doubling the number of luminaries sold, a feat that turned Belyea's hair pink - well, actually a shade of purple.
"I thank you very much," Belyea, the relay committee's luminaries chair, told relay participants as the 12-hour event drew to a close just before 7 a.m. April 24, revealing that a grand total of 1,455 luminaries had been sold, compared to 600 last year. "Woohoo! I still have my hair."
Belyea had promised to dye her hair pink if more than 1,000 luminaries were sold and to shave it off if sales cracked the 2,000 mark.
Candles in fireproof bags that bear the names of people who have won or lost the battle against cancer, the luminaries were lit in a ceremony at 10 p.m. April 23 and then lined the inner edge of the track to inspire relay participants as they made their laps.
But they sparked a minor crisis less just hours before the relay was scheduled to start, when Belyea send out a Facebook message pleading for help.
"I need helpers at the Thompson Recreation Community Centre today at 4:30pm," the message read. "Not enough luminary bags came in..they are sending them via plane...need sandbaggers ....please..."
Total cash donations for the 2010 Relay for Life were $93,920.23 as of 7 a.m. Saturday, Relay for Life committee facilities chair Jeff Lindstrom told the participants before the final lap started.
"Our community really stepped forward and crushed this relay," said Lindstrom, recognizing the top fundraising team, the Cancer Crushers, who brought in $4,185.
Dolores McKay was top individual fundraiser, collecting $1,372 to just barely beat out Tracy Hines, who raised $1,352.
With gifts in kind amounting to $42,475, the total for this year's Relay for Life was $136,395.
Last year's Relay in Thompson raised $83,000 in cash.
All money raised by the Relay for Life goes to the Canadian Cancer Society.
Started in 1985 by colorectal surgeon Dr. Gordy Klatt in Tacoma, Washington, the first Canadian Relay for Life was held in 1999, raising $85,000. By 2008, there were 451 Relay for Life events across the country, with more than 200,000 Canadians participating.
"I hope one day we won't need relay for life and we can kill it, kill cancer," Lindstrom told the Thompson participants.
