By Tessa Ferrone
Photo taken by Lian A.
Relay For Life is a community-based fundraising event for the Canadian Cancer Society. This year, the Youth Troop of St. Joseph’s Catholic High School had the honour of hosting this important event. As you would have heard on the announcements leading up to the event, the Youth Troop had been preparing for the day for nine months, encouraging us all to donate to our school’s fundraiser for Cancer Research. The Relay For Life was held on the back field, where we enjoyed stories, dance performances, and beautiful weather, all things that contributed to making the day so special. Here is a recap of St. Joseph’s first time hosting this important event.
We came together on the field and began with a comment from our Student Council Prime Minister, Angelina Hermes, expressing to us how important it was that we were involved in this event. Next, we were fortunate enough to hear from Derek Lau, a grade twelve student from Riverside Secondary School who has battled and survived cancer. He told us about his entire journey, starting from when he was only in grade four. His story was inspiring, and as a token of our appreciation, the Youth Troop presented him with a gift card. It had only just begun, and the event was already lifting our spirits.
Then, it was time for our walk to begin. We were called, by grade, to join Derek on the track as he led us around it. For half an hour, we enjoyed music, warm weather, and the enthusiasm of our grade eleven leaders on the track. When we gathered back on the field, the Youth Troop drew the raffle tickets for the beautiful baskets containing $800 in prizes, which they had prepared for two special winners. Mrs. Chiandussi’s dance team performed three dances that they had spent many weeks practicing for this event. The Relay For Life ended with a word from Principal Desjardins and a final round of applause for our Youth Troop. “Sharing in the Relay For Life experience as survivors, friends, grieving family members, and colleagues stands among the most powerful, meaningful, and impactful events our school community has organised,” says Principal Desjardins.
Photo taken by Lian A.
Now it’s time to recognize the people who made this event possible. Creator of the Laser’s Youth Troop, Chaitanya UnnikrishnanNair, has been passionate about helping people from a young age. She remembers going to her mother’s workplace, a children’s hospice, and she would play with the kids, knowing that they would not survive the illness they had been fighting. This made Chaitanya eager to help others, and she has made a point to do that since. She created the Youth Troop at St. Joe’s with this event in mind as the main goal for the end of this year. “I think it’s important to invest in ideas, innovation and forward-thinking to prevent cancer and drive change,” Chaitanya says. Mrs. Stevens is also responsible for preparing for this day, and she made sure it was a special one since she is a cancer survivor herself. Five years ago, her husband discovered a lump on her neck that turned out to be Papillary Thyroid Cancer. She will be on certain medications for the rest of her life, but Mrs. Stevens is proud to say she is five years cancer-free! The Youth Troop knows that everyone has been affected by cancer in some way or another. So when given the responsibility of hosting Relay For Life, they did a fantastic job!
The Youth Troop would like to thank their Laser Family for their incredible support and participation in this event and everyone who donated to the school’s fundraiser for Cancer Research. Thanks to the Youth Troop’s daily announcements and reminders, us Lasers raised $6,537, which will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society. Principal Desjardins would like to thank Mrs. Stevens, our inspiring survivor and teacher, and the entire Youth Troop for creating a memory that will forever live on in the spirit of St. Joseph’s Catholic High School.