Relay For Life Guam has global impact, event kicks off Saturday

The American Cancer Society is putting on its signature event, Relay for Life, which is set to take over the University of Guam Calvo Field House on Saturday afternoon to offer an opportunity for the local community to come together to celebrate cancer survivors and remember loved ones lost. This year, Brian Sherwood, ACS national senior director for Relay for Life, flew out from Texas to participate in the event and witness firsthand how the event is recovering after the COVID-19 pandemic. “I think you know it for all Relay for Life, but especially here in Guam, you know, it's been a recovery, post-COVID, post-pandemic.

And so, it's exciting to see them inch closer back to that $200,000 threshold of fundraising efforts for ACS. It's one of our more unique events, because it's in Guam, and it's not super well known, even within our organization and our volunteer base, that we still have an event here on Guam, and that it raises significant funds for the American Cancer Society. So, I wanted to see it for myself, be able to, you know, be able to speak about it when I'm talking with our other volunteers that do Relay across the country, and meet folks like (Edward Lee, development manger for the American Cancer Society), who work here on the island, as well as the amazing volunteers that make Relay for Life possible here on Guam,” Sherwood said.



This is Sherwood’s first visit to Guam and he said he hopes to meet the people who bring the Relay for Life to fruition and the cancer survivors that they help. “Cancer impacts, unfortunately, all of us. And so, we have cancer survivors here in Guam just like we do in Texas, where I'm from, and so it's great to be able to interact with them and hear about what the services that ACS has provided has meant to them, what the support that Relay For Life has meant to them, because it's not all about just the support when you're going through treatment, although that's very important,” Sherwood said.

The Relay for Life provides an opportunity to connect and share stories of cancer survivors and caregivers, he said, and it’s also an opportunity for American Red Cross to let people know they are still here. “I'm very proud to say that the Relay for Life efforts, nationally, still continue to bring in significant fundraising dollars in those two years, a lot of times doing things virtually. And I think when I speak to those maybe less aware of the Guam event, I think some of it is just the geographical distance from the rest of the U.

S. and I think when folks hear that we have a presence here on Guam and that we are supporting cancer patients and their families and doing things like Relay for Life to bring the community together and raise funds for those services, I think it's inspiring to people to hear that, that even in our U.S.

territories, we still have the strong presence of the American Cancer Society,” Sherwood said. A six-hour event, the Relay For Life for Guam is an important part of ACS’ work and is more than just a walk, he said. “It's about being a part of something bigger than yourself.

And I think my presence here, and I hope when I'm talking with volunteers tomorrow at the event, is to make sure that they know that, and that you know that, yes, the work they're doing, it has a direct impact on what's happening here on Guam for cancer patients and their families, but it also has a global impact,” Sherwood said. This is the second year that Relay For Life will be held indoors, according to Lee. “So last year we had it, obviously, with the typhoon, we decided to go indoors.

And it worked out great, especially with the weather. We had a lot of constituents begged to go back indoors, so we decided to one last year indoors,” Lee said. The six-hour event begins at 3 p.

m. and will feature the iconic luminary display and an added “special feature.” “We'll still have the victory laps for the survivors.

We actually have a special feature that we haven't done in the past, where we do a victory lap just for the caregivers, because they're just as important as the survivors, because they're going along with the journey. So, we wanted to make sure that they're recognized, and they have their moment, and then obviously the teams and sponsors that have all fundraised. But we will still have the luminary display set up there, because that's kind of an iconic piece of Relay For Life, especially with Guam,” Lee said.

The event is free and open to the public. It will be held from 3 p.m.

to 9 p.m. Saturday at the University of Guam Calvo Field House.

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