Thursday, 358 members of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) community collectively walked hundreds of miles inside Terminal 1-Lindbergh to better the lives of others.
Sponsored by Delta Air Lines, HMS Host, and Wings Financial, The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life event consisted of 35 teams from nine airport organizations including the Metropolitan Airports Commission, who raised more than $76,000 through online, in person and 12 airport-wide fundraisers.
Cancer survivors Melinda Bailey Buck and KARE 11’s Randy Shaver drove the point home for participants and passersby with their testimonies about how these funds are used not only to support cancer research, but also to support cancer patients through counseling for survivors and caregivers, transportation and lodging needs as necessary, and financial assistance for uninsured and underinsured for cancer screening.
MSP established a new trend in 2010 by hosting the first Relay for Life at an airport terminal. That event’s success inspired six more airports to participate in the 2011 event, including Boston Logan International Airport, Detroit Metro Airport, Jacksonville International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Memphis Airport, and Seattle/Tacoma International Airport. In total, these seven airports have raised more than $226,000 for the cause.
Relay for Life offers community members the opportunity to aid in the fight against cancer. The theme for Relay for Life is Celebrate, Remember and Fight. Celebrating survivors, remembering those lost to cancer, and fighting for, “a world with less cancer and more Birthdays.”
For more information about Relay for Life click here http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/whatisrelay.
