AEDC team to again participate in Relay for Life

  • Published
  • By Dee Wolfe
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. --  Preparations are underway for the Coffee County Relay For Life being held April 29, 2016, at the small track located at the Coffee County Fairgrounds in Manchester.  

AEDC employees are encouraged to participate in Relay For Life, which is actually not a race, but an event to raise money and awareness for cancer research.

Relay For Life starts at 6 p.m. and ends at midnight- so it is a 6-hour event rather than an all-night event as it has been in the past. 

Cancer has affected just about everyone at AEDC in one way or another.  Almost everyone knows someone who is currently battling cancer, who has gone through it or who hasn't survived it, which is why events like Relay For Life are so important.  

I am a two-time cancer survivor and my husband Shawn and I, both AEDC DOD employees, coordinate the base's involvement in the event. We have participated in the event since 2009 and have been captains of Team REMEMBER since 2011. 

Since 2009, AEDC teams have raised more than $35,000 for cancer research. For this year's event, Shawn and I are part of the Logistics Committee meaning we will be coordinating the events the night of Relay and will need volunteers to help our team participate in fundraising activities. 

For the past few years, our fundraisers the night of the event have been chair massages and "Wreck-a-Car." Without volunteers or other team members, we will not be able to host these events or any other fundraising that night.  These fundraisers are just options we've done in the past and we are open to any other ideas or suggestions. 

Prior to the event last year, Team REMEMBER held a bake sale joint fundraiser with Manchester Chill and we raised more than $300. We anticipate having another fundraiser in the spring before the event.  

If you would like more information about Relay For Life, are interested in joining the team or starting your own, or would like to make a donation, please call 454-4313.  Individuals can also register online at www.relayforlife.org/coffeetn.

--AEDC--