Creating a World with more Birthdays

We did it!!! On April 16th, I participated with the Johnson County Relay for Life.

From 7pm to 7am we celebrated cancer survivors and caregivers. 

We remembered loved ones lost. 

We fought back against a disease that takes too much from too many.  

During this event we raised over $26,000 to help fight cancer!!! The theme of the night was to create a world with more birthdays... think about it.
I would like to extend a heartfelt Thank You to all of our awesome 36 teams and almost 350 walkers.  We couldn't have done it without you!
The night was filled with people excited to be at the Relay.  In case you didn't know, the American Cancer Society funds research to help find cures, but they actually do a lot more than that! They are all about saving lives.  They help people stay well by working to prevent cancer or detect it early, when it's most treatable.  They assist in helping people get well and fight back against cancer by working with elected officials to pass laws that defeat cancer and bring communities together to join the fight.  After becoming involved with this event, I have decided to dedicate much of my time to helping the American Cancer Society and spreading the importance of getting involved.  I will be joining the Johnson County Relay for Life Committee next year!

Here are a few photos from the Relay!  Although my adorable teen sister queen had prom the following day, she toughed it out to help raise money to fight cancer.  Pictured below is me and Mattie Elliott, Miss Greater Kansas City Outstanding Teen.  The Relay was held at the Multipurpose building in Warrensburg, MO- a wonderful facility for the walk!

Once I decided that I wanted to be involved with Relay for Life, I contacted the director of JCR4L asking how I could get involved.  He was very excited that Mattie and I were able to attend and he made us as involved as possible! He has us speaking, raising money with pictures, walking the relay, teaching and judging the "queen of the relay", visiting with survivors, announcing all activities and singing the National Anthem..... yes, singing.  When Richard asked if I could sing, I simply said, "I am a dancer, but I can sing." He liked that quote and decided to announce it to everyone!

I hit off the night with the opening ceremonies! 

.......and then, 

The colors were presented.....

and out came the National Anthem! 

Apparently, it didn't sound too bad because since then I have been asked to sing the Alma Mater at the Commencement Ceremonies at UCM! 

After the National Anthem, I dug into the script for the entire night, beginning with introducing the cancer survivors that were present.  Once each survivor had been introduced they started the Relay by completing the first lap.  It was so inspirational and everyone at the Relay clapped throughout the duration of their lap.  It was an honor to meet so many strong cancer survivors.

The night carried on with a lot of fun activities and a lot of friendly faces.

Adorable! She passed out purple roses to all of the cancer survivors.

While at the Relay, each team, or group, tried to raise as much money as possible.  I was asked by the UCM National Society of Collegiate Scholars team (an organization in which I was involved with in college) to be their "$$$ raiser".  To raise money for TEAM NSCS I took pictures and signed autographs... for a price! After an hour with a frozen face, I helped them raise $301.75!! Overall, Team NSCS came in with a bronze medal for the amount of money raised (including their other money raising activities).

Mattie even helped the team by face painting! 

It was not long until the night began to get very interesting.  It was time for the "Queen of the Relay" competition!  Males were picked by their teams to dress up as queens and raise money.  Before we sent the queens out to walk, mingle and play volleyball (in gowns- hilarious) we thought it was essential to teach them how to act like queens.

Back on stage, Mattie and I taught the "ladies" how to pose, walk, wave and even flirt to raise money! In this picture they have already learned how to pose, they've got the stance down! We are now teaching them to wave...

SUCCESS!!! 

Once they had down their proper manners and lady-like fundraising techniques, they were sent out to get donations.  Families, businesses and other walkers gave donations to the queens as they made their way around the Relay and marketed themselves.  Toward the end of the Relay we added up all of their donations and crowned our new Queen of the Relay! 

The night was definitely a success and created memories that I will never forget!