Exciting News!

Last week President-Elect Barack Obama, together with community leaders and nonprofits from across the nation, called upon Americans to follow the example of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and commit to service and volunteering on the MLK Day of Service.

Relay For Life is one of the Obama administration’s chosen activities for community activism because of the wide range of support and education it provides in the community. Go Relay!

With that call, and the tidal wave of excitement and energy from the recent election, we want to make Relay a part of the biggest MLK Day of Service in history.

How can you serve?

*Get Involved! Sign up for Relay For Life today if you have not already done so! Relay is a healthy, inspiring event that helps your American Cancer Society fight cancer in your community and across the globe. Already signed up?

*Already Registered? Spread The Word!
Tell a friend about Relay For Life. You can send e-cards and emails to invite your local friends and family. Or Use our handy Relay locator tool to help your far away friends and family find a Relay in their communities!

You can also help support Relay by forwarding this email to friends or posting our Relay websites on sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, or any blog you might write. In fact, there may already be Relay-related Facebook pages in your community. Relay is a grassroots movement… our success depends on your outreach!

*Fight Back!
Did you know that 2 out of three people in the United States are overweight? What you eat (or don't eat) can influence your risk of developing cancer. Our helpful healthy eating toolkit will show you great ways to reduce your cancer risk through simple lifestyle changes. Lots of tips and tricks, and even a virtual dietitian!

A Message from Jose Ramos, Relay For Life California Division Team Chair:

In November, we had the opportunity to bring the Relay For Life volunteer leadership together for two days of training, relationship building and fun at our California Division Summit in Los Angeles. For those of you who attended, I hope that you found the experience to be a memorable one and that you left energized and ready to put the information you received into action!

All of the hard work each of you is doing is clearly paying off. As you will see below, for the first time in the ten years that the statistics have been kept, cancer mortality and incidence rates dropped together during the same year. That is very encouraging news, and all of you who take the time to make the fight against cancer a priority in your lives have made a contribution toward those results. We don’t always see the immediate impact of our work to battle cancer, but this development is a clear sign that our collective work is making a difference, and we need to keep it up!

At Summit, I mentioned the importance of three things we need to do right now to ensure we keep our momentum:

1. support our baby Relay events
2. continue to educate our volunteers and communities about our cause
3. embrace best practices and innovation as ways to keep our events fresh

I believe these priorities are important for our continued success, and hope that you will work with your fellow committee members and supporters to find ways to meet these objectives.

But before you get cracking on planning your remarkable events for next year, I hope that you will find plenty of time to relax as we head into the heart of the holiday season. I am so grateful for the hard work each of you is doing to make a difference in the fight against cancer and really feel blessed to be working with such a passionate bunch of people. Enjoy the holidays with your friends and family, and let’s get ready to charge into 2009.

Jose Ramos
Division Relay For Life Team Chair

New Relay Blog!

You may have noticed some changes around here! I'll be updating this blog regularly with Relay news, stories, and anything relay...please feel free to comment or suggest ideas here. You can also submit your Relay Stories by filling out the "Tell Your Story" area. Happy New Year Relayers!