Relay For Life.....what can I say? What an AWESOME event. Definitely going again next year. Words cannot express how magical and uplifting this even is, and I am just so glad I could be part of it.

So what did I do at this event? I volunteered FOR FUN!!! So here is what I did.

Becky (my roommate) and I arrived there at 5ish yesterday, and we pretty much got settled away before actually getting involved. We brought a tent to sleep in because we though for sure we’d never mad e it though the night. Oh we were so wrong because we didn’t use the tent at all, except to put it up and take it down. So we got settled in, and we were ready to do our job. Look for help! (And we found it all night).

First, We made our way to the Luminary station to ask if they needed help, and sure enough they did. Here our jobs were to put the luminaries (dedicated messages in honor or memory of a loved one with cancer on a bag filled with sand with a lighted candle inside) in specific recycling bins in alphabetical order, so they could be added to the track, also in alphabetical order, where the participants walked. While there, we had to work with high school students that were soooooooo lazy. They didn’t want to be there at all, and all they did was complicate things more with their lack of caring and disorganization. For example, bring the luminaries to the track was quite a distance to walk, especially G through N bins, but they took the closer letters with the luminaries in them. So the rest of us were left with actual physical work, but I didn’t so much mind that. It was just the high school kids got in the way of things running a little smoother.

Secondly, while doing the luminaries I was approached by one of the head ladies because she waned a “hard worker” (her words not mine) to come help her out. So I did!! This job was to relieve this guy from bathroom duty, so he could go eat. And no this is not cleaning the bathrooms of anything!!! lol I had to SIT :) at a picnic table with a set of keys to bathrooms. My job was to let only the handicap (their words) and elderly in. This position was very temporary, but it wasn’t so bad. It was nice to relax for a minute.

Thirdly, Becky and I got to do a very honorable position, which was light the luminaries that spelled hope while Amazing Grace was being sung. It was such a great moment, and I will admit it did bring a tear to my eye. I did take pictures, so when they get developed I’ll post them. :)

After that, Becky and I took a brake to walk around the grounds. There were a lot of camp grounds, and a lot of interesting things to see. People were selling things, and the proceeds went to the event. So as we were walking around we noticed there wasn’t a whole lot to do at this point, so went to sit at the registrations desk. We had expected to sit there for a long time, but we didn’t. There was more work to be done.

Fourthly, we moved to food services. There were a lot of hungry participants wanting pizza, and we were there to serve them. At this point we met Matt and Jim, which I think were high school students too. But they were alright. We all did a pretty go job of getting the food out the people, and the line was gone in like no-time. There was TUNS of pizza let over, so then we started giving it away for free.

After our job of serving the pizza, here is where we got in with the higher powers of this event. :)
We has found out they were preparing breakfast for the campers in the kitchen of the Waterloo Regional Police building, so we go inside to see if they needed any help. Unfortunately, they didn’t, but we got to stay in there and relax. This building had a big screen tv, air conditioning, all the muffins from Tim’s you wanted because it was left over from breakfast, and a games room. We stayed in here for a little while to relax with the people. I met a guy named Jim (yes another Jim), so we played pool. Yes pool! I kicked is ass. It was best two out of three, and I won....:)

While passing time there, it was time to hand out the breakfast to the hungry participants. Here, we had to load the golf carts with boxes upon boxes of food to bring to set up and serve. Here I got to ride a golf cart of the first time, and it was kind of cool. So much fun!

At this point, I am really tired because I think it’s like four in the morning. I decide to lay down for a while in the games room of the building because there were soft chairs there, but it was too cold which made it hard to sleep. I then went to the fireplace and laid on the chairs there. Not that comfortable!!! I didn’t really sleep at all, and I all I did was sit and wait for the closing ceremonies.

Finally, the ceremonies started. There were 1, 500 participants in the race plus all the volunteers and head people. Prizes were given out, and they announced they had raised 335, 000 dollar. After that, everyone went home, but Becky and I were not done. We had to clean up since we actually signed up for “take down” responsibilities. That made us stay there til nine this morning.

God I was s glad to be home, so I could shower. I felt so gross, but it was worth every moment...lol There was sooooooo much food left over, and we got to bring quite a bit home. Two full pizzas, a dozen muffins from Tim’s, and bun from the bakery that were left over from the bbq. Plus, there was a guy who gave us chips and bubbles to bring home.

All in all, what an awesome event. I will definitely be going back next year. I said good-bye to Denise (head lady of program), and she wants Becky and I to contact her this week. It seems really important, but I think Becky and I left a great impression and we are being recognized for it. How sweet is that?? I have learned that I am a well rounded individual, and it is very easy for me to be noticed when needed to be. I made sure the head people of the event saw me, and I am sure they saw how much I helped.

Anyway, if I missed something I’ll write about ti late. I am tired and want to sleep more now.

~Lots of Love~

Lori

P.S. If the spelling, grammar, and punctuation suck in this blog I don’t care. I am too tired. :) ¶ 3:27 PM