Team Gears Up For Relay For Life Palm Harbor

Cancer has a way of sneaking up on you and changing your entire world within a breath. Pina Sherwin understands this better than most—after losing her father at age 14 to the disease, Sherwin’s life changed from that point on.

Now, having survived thyroid cancer herself, Sherwin looks at cancer with new eyes and is dedicated to finding a cure to this devastating disease.  Sherwin has banded together with fellow survivors and friends to form Team “Palm Harbor Pelicans,” as part of Relay For Life of Palm Harbor (www.relayforlife.org/palmharborfl).

The Relay for Life event will be held April 12 at Palm Harbor University High School, located at 1900 Omaha St.

More people die from cancer than from AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined, and the World Health Organization estimates that without immediate action, the global number of deaths from cancer will increase by nearly 80 percent by 2030.

Relay For Life is an act of global activism meant to celebrate cancer survivors and honor loved ones lost, while also raising money to help find a cure for the disease.  After losing many loved ones to the disease, Sherwin has made it her mission to do her part in funding research for a cure.

"Too many people [close to me] have died from cancer," said Sherwin, according to a media release about the relay.  "I've lost my father, an aunt, a sister-in law who was only 32, and a dear friend a couple of years ago."

"I'm helping raise money to find a cure for all cancers, so we won’t have to lose precious family and friends to this horrible disease anymore," Sherwin said.

The Palm Harbor Pelicans first attended Relay For Life in 2010, and are now in their third year of participation. The Palm Harbor Pelicans have organized many pre-event fundraisers, including the Annual Thirsty Marlin Fundraiser—which raised over $2,000—and a Chick-fil-A fundraiser, where 20 percent of food sales will be donated to the team.

Another part of the team's fundraising efforts will come from onsite raffles; they will be selling raffle tickets for restaurant gift certificates, movies tickets, mini-golf, Vera Bradley bags, and baskets full of goodies.  The team will also hold a "Parrothead Pastries" bakery booth at the event, where they will sell a variety of baked goods, fruit and non-alcoholic drinks.

The Palm Harbor Pelicans have reached their $5,000 goal in each of the past two years, and are hoping to greatly surpass that amount this year.

Relay For Life is a global awareness event started by the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org) to bring recognition to the impact of cancer and raise funds to find a cure for the disease.  Participants form teams, camp out overnight, and take turns doing laps around a track to raise donations.  Because cancer never sleeps, Relay events last up to 24 hours, and each team is required to have at least one member on the track at all times.

Relay For Life of Palm Harbor currently has 26 teams and 218 participants, and has raised over $38,000. The number of participants is expected to grow even more in upcoming weeks.

To find out more information about Relay For Life Palm Harbor, FL, visit www.relayforlife.org/palmharborfl.

To join or donate to the Team Palm Harbor Chamber of Commerce, visit http://relay.acsevents.org/site/TR?fr_id=50032&pg=teamlist.

Information for this report was provided on behalf of Relay for Life Palm Harbor.