The eighth annual Shelby Cancer Rally is coming up on Sunday, May 18, and for rally chairman and cancer survivor Jack Gray it’s been eight years that seem to have passed rather quickly.
“We’ve come a long way in eight years,” said Gray. “I was diagnosed 10 years ago and the first rally we did was during my last year of treatment, and that would’ve been eight years ago. When you think about that, it’s like wow, it’s been a long time already.”
The Shelby Cancer Rally itself has also come a long way, growing in participants, sponsors and funds raised. In the past seven years, more than $100,000 has been raised through the rallies and through Gray’s own fundraising efforts. All proceeds are donated to the Livestrong Foundation to fund programs that help people affected by cancer.
“In a town of 9,000 people, that’s pretty amazing,” said Gray. “Shelby is kind of a rock star at the Livestrong Foundation because of the amount of money we generate from the size of the community. All of the Livestrong leaders are aware of Shelby and I get a lot of questions throughout the year from other leaders about how we do what we do. We’re very proud of that.”
The Cancer Rally begins with registration and silent auction bidding at 1 p.m. on Sunday behind Central School in Shelby. The rally itself begins at 2 p.m. with a guest speaker, followed by a 5K family run/walk and a 6-mile family bike ride. Registration for these activities is $15 and includes an event t-shirt and a wristband. Cold water will be provided, and various sponsors including Sam’s Club, the Shelby Snowie Bus and the Texas Roadhouse Armadillo will be in attendance.
Auction items available for bidding include items from the Shelby area and around Ohio, including tickets to Indians, Reds, and Clippers sporting events, admission to attractions around Ohio, handmade and home baked items, Livestrong items and a bicycle, to name only a few. Gray said the rally has the most sponsors ever this year at 42.
“Sponsorship has grown tremendously, which is good for them and good for the community because it lets the community see all these businesses and individuals in our community that are supporting the war on cancer,” he said. “We always encourage participants to support those merchants and to thank them for supporting the rally.”
This year’s guest speaker is Aubry Vonck, who recently graduated from The Ohio State University with her master’s degree in education. Vonck was instrumental in the fundraising and staffing of Camp Kesem at Ohio State, a community of more than 60 college campuses throughout the country where student leaders develop and operate free weeklong summer camps for children in families coping with cancer. Vonck’s involvement made it possible for more than 100 children of parents fighting cancer to attend Camp Kesem at Ohio State, and will share her story at the rally on Sunday.
Sharing these stories and spreading the word about cancer awareness and treatment is an important part of the war on cancer, said Gray.
“We’re finding out every year that there are more and more people diagnosed with cancer every year, and I’m not sure it’s because there is more cancer out there – I think the big factor is we’re diagnosing more people because of awareness and education,” he explained. “We’re getting the word out to people the need for check-ups, for mammograms, PSA tests, and annual visits to the doctor. There’s more cancer out there because we the community are finding more cancer than we used to, and we’re finding it at an earlier stage so that it’s more treatable.”
After receiving his own cancer diagnosis in October 2004, Gray said he was never afraid to talk about the fact that he had cancer and to spread the word about cancer awareness. He said his own experience was the defining factor in starting his own campaign in the war on cancer.
“Originally, I felt if I could help one more person, if my story would get one more person tested or made one more person aware of it, or gave one other individual an opportunity to talk to me about my cancer experience, then I felt that I was doing something very important,” said Gray. “Little did I know that 10 years later it would have grown to where it is now.”
For more information about the Shelby Cancer Rally and to download a registration form, visit www.shelbysupportslivestrong.org or contact Jack Gray at jgray3@neo.rr.com.
