North Whidbey Middle School is holding a canned food drive to benefit Relay for Life and North Whidbey Help House.
The food drive, which started Monday, collects canned food only. Donations will be accepted for two weeks.
Relay for Life, an event that started in May 1985 in Tacoma, Wash., is a fundraising event for cancer research, as well as an opportunity to offer support for those whose lives have been affected by cancer.
“There’s a lot of positive things that happen at this event that make people feel good,” said Leandra Reuble, 2014 event chairwoman for Relay for Life of Whidbey Island, “and sometimes that’s every bit as important as raising money.”
The canned food from the drive will be used to weigh down the Luminaria tributes that are a feature of Relay for Life events. These tributes are personalized lanterns in honor of someone’s fight with cancer.
The luminaries will be lit at 10 p.m. at the Relay for Life event.
Relay for Life in Oak Harbor will be at North Whidbey Middle School. It starts at 6 p.m. Friday, May 30.
As of Monday afternoon, $72,466.16 was raised for Relay for Life of Whidbey Island.
At the Relay for Life, the first lap around the field is a Survivors Lap and is for cancer survivors and their caregivers. They will be led by Oak Harbor High School’s NJROTC, said Reuble.
Reuble said there will also be booths selling things, a bouncy house and “a Mr. Relay competition, where the guys dress in drag and try to get donations on the track.”
After the relay, all of the food collected from the drives will be donated to the Help House.
Donations can be brought to the middle school anytime starting Monday for two weeks.