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Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Villanova raises over $70,000 at Relay for Life
RTT PHOTOS BY RON GIOFU
The Relay for Life event at St. Thomas of Villanova Secondary School started with a “Survivors Lap” around the school track (above). Games and activities were also part of the day’s events, including tug-of-war (right).
By Ron Giofu
St. Thomas of Villanova Secondary School brought back its Relay for Life event and did so in a big way. The fundraiser was held last Friday and was held at the track and field complex at Villanova, with approximately $70,000 raised for the Canadian Cancer Society. It was the first Relay for Life event for the bulk of the students as the event had to be cancelled in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Olivia Borrowman and Mackenzie Delisle, two of the students that headed up the organizing committee, were thrilled with the results. Borrowman pointed out they exceeded their original $50,000 goal. “Everyone is so excited,” said Delisle. Borrowman said they are grateful to not only the students and staff, but to
all the supporters including the sponsors. The bulk of the dinner offered as part of the event was paid for through sponsors, Delisle pointed out. Attendance was not mandatory for students but there was a record number of students in the Wildcat community that took part. “The students have been great,” said Borrowman. “There are almost 600 students here.” That doubled their previous record, Borrowman added. Delisle said it is one of the biggest student-led Relay for Life events presented. Many of the students hadn’t heard of Relay for Life before fundraising started in April. The committee helped enlighten the students on the event and the impacts of cancer. The Relay for Life started with a Survivor’s Lap, with about ten cancer survivors leading the students around
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the track at Villanova. Borrowman quoted 2021 figures, noting one in four people diagnosed with cancer will pass away from it, noting there were 229,200 diagnoses that year and 84,600 deaths. Delisle said the Survivors Lap shows that cancer can impact anyone. One of the survivors was Del Beltran, husband of St. Thomas of Villanova Secondary School principal Laura Beltran. “I feel good,” said Beltran. “It’s a
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wonderful day, wonderful event and it’s for a good cause.” Beltran said he had the same type of cancer as Terry Fox, osteogenic sarcoma, and lost his leg just like Fox. “When he got it in his lung, I got in it my lung also,” said Beltran. Five years of chemotherapy was able to change Beltran’s outcome from that of Fox, and he has now been cancerfree for 40 years.
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