At a glance
What: Relay for Life's Annual Survivors' Dinner
When: 7-9 p.m. April 16
Where: Matt Elementary School, 7455 Wallace Tatum Road
Who: Any cancer survivor and their caregivers
R.S.V.P: Diane Gilbert at (770) 844-9068 or dgilbert30040@yahoo.com
For more on Relay for Life, visit www.forsythrelayforlife.org.
Cancer survivors and their caregivers are invited to take part in a special event this week.
Forsyth County's Relay for Life organizing committee will again host the annual survivors' dinner at Matt Elementary School in north Forsyth on April 16.
The dinner is open to anyone in the county who has battled cancer and their caregivers.
While committee members have a list of about 1,200 survivors from previous Relay events which they invite, dinner organizer Diane Gilbert said the event is open to any survivor.
"We welcome them with open arms," said Gilbert, who has organized the dinner for the past six years.
She said last year the event saw about 200 survivors and caregivers.
"We're hoping for a bigger year this year," she said. "We've already got 118 survivors signed up. We plan for about 400 people each year."
Suzanne Hendricks, community manager for the American Cancer Society, said the dinner is one of the most important facets of the organization's fundraiser.
"[The dinner] is an important part of Relay for Life because this is one of our opportunities to honor and celebrate our survivors, both those that have defeated cancer and those who are currently battling," she said. "Survivors are the heart of Relay."
This year's Relay theme is celebrating birthdays cancer-free.
Gilbert said that birthday theme will play out at the dinner.
"We'll have a lot of birthday cake," she said.
More importantly than food, though, is the bond that survivors experience through the dinner, she added.
"It's a good place to talk with others who've been in similar situations," she said. "There's a special bond there. Everyone really enjoys the fellowship."
Forsyth County's Relay for Life organizing committee will again host the annual survivors' dinner at Matt Elementary School in north Forsyth on April 16.
The dinner is open to anyone in the county who has battled cancer and their caregivers.
While committee members have a list of about 1,200 survivors from previous Relay events which they invite, dinner organizer Diane Gilbert said the event is open to any survivor.
"We welcome them with open arms," said Gilbert, who has organized the dinner for the past six years.
She said last year the event saw about 200 survivors and caregivers.
"We're hoping for a bigger year this year," she said. "We've already got 118 survivors signed up. We plan for about 400 people each year."
Suzanne Hendricks, community manager for the American Cancer Society, said the dinner is one of the most important facets of the organization's fundraiser.
"[The dinner] is an important part of Relay for Life because this is one of our opportunities to honor and celebrate our survivors, both those that have defeated cancer and those who are currently battling," she said. "Survivors are the heart of Relay."
This year's Relay theme is celebrating birthdays cancer-free.
Gilbert said that birthday theme will play out at the dinner.
"We'll have a lot of birthday cake," she said.
More importantly than food, though, is the bond that survivors experience through the dinner, she added.
"It's a good place to talk with others who've been in similar situations," she said. "There's a special bond there. Everyone really enjoys the fellowship."