“My gift to Richland County was helping bring the Relay for Life fundraiser. I knew what I went through and that it was necessary to do this fundraiser,” said Norbert Peiker. Peiker is a 17-year cancer survivor and his gift was to bring the relay to Richland County. The event will be held this Saturday at Madison Comprehensive High School beginning at 11 a.m.
After he was diagnosed, Peiker researched Relay for Life and noticed that Ohio had participated in the event in other counties, but not in Richland. So, in 1997, one year after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he helped establish the first Relay For Life in Richland County. In its first year, he served as the event chairman and keynote speaker.
“I wanted to help bring this event to Mansfield to inform and educate people about cancer and to give them hope,” he said.
Last year, this fundraiser raised $74,419 for the American Cancer Society to invest in groundbreaking cancer research and to help provide free services to cancer patients and their caregivers.
The event was first held at the old J.C. Penney’s store on Park Avenue and five teams participated. Since then, the average number of participating teams has grown to about 25 and the location was changed to Madison Comprehensive High School.
Teams and individuals participate to celebrate life and remember and honor those who have lost their lives to cancer. Team members take turns walking around a track over the course of the 24 hour event. Having one member on the track at all times is meant to represent the 24/7 fight against cancer.
Both Norbert and his wife Barbara are a part of Team Christine this year. They are joined by 25 other team members. One of Team Christine’s contributions to this year’s Relay For Life is the donation of a pink king-size quilt and pillows that have the pink ribbon insignia printed on them. The quilt and pillow set will be available to purchase at the event on Saturday.
Barbara Peiker shares the love of running with her husband and anticipates running on the track and visiting with the other participants. “It’s kind of like a big family picnic,” she stated. “Families come and hang out. Some people set up tents and camp out all night. There are activities for children—they can get their faces painted and play games.”
In addition to fun activities for the family, this year’s event will feature performances by the Newhope Dance troupe, Sosa gymnastics, cloggers, Ohio Idol, and the Clear Fork drum line. There are also various themed laps. The first lap is the Survivor’s Lap. Cancer survivors take the track and celebrate life through this victory lap as they are cheered on by spectators.
Another signature feature of this event is the Luminaria Ceremony. When night falls Saturday, people circle the track and light up their personalized luminaria bags. Each luminaria is filled with a candle along with a name, drawing, or photo in honor of those who have been affected by cancer.
