2011 Relay For Life Updates for Brandon, Bloomingdale, FishHawk, Plant City, Riverview and Seffner

The American Cancer Society's Relay For Life season is underway and proceeds raised so far from the six events in Eastern Hillsborough County have collectively raised just shy of $200,000.

That’s good news to people like Mary Coram, a breast cancer survivor and breast care educator at Total Imaging on Parsons Avenue in Brandon. (Related Coverage: .)

“There are a lot of people who don’t know how to do a breast exam and a lot of them don’t get the mammograms,” Coram said at the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce Health Fair held on March 5 at the Campo Family YMCA in Valrico. “Over the past three years we’ve seen more cases of women being diagnosed with breast cancer in their 30’s. My motto for this year is, ‘Spring Into Action.’ Start taking care of yourself, get empowered with your life, make sure you get exercise and eat good foods.”

Indeed, the march is on to find a cure, as evidenced by this week’s growth in Relay For Life numbers, with one Relay, in Riverview, topping the $50,000 mark for the first time, with Plant City not far behind.

Collectively, as of March 7, the six sites in Eastern Hillsborough County had reported 262 teams, 3,383 participants and $195,028.02 raised. (See chart below.) That means that over the past week, the effort has grown by three teams, 218 participants and $25,489.29.

Start dates for the overnight relay run from March 25 through April 8.

Periodically at Brandon Patch we will give updates on the efforts underway for Relay events at Bloomingdale, Brandon, Newsome (FishHawk), Plant City and Riverview high schools and Burnett Middle School (Seffner/Dover).

Our weekly update will supplement coverage of the Relay movement as it unwinds — and as told through the heart and passion of die-hard believers in the cause to fight cancer.

The chart below includes links to information about area relay events, from which the updates on people and teams participating, and money raised, has been collected:

Below is the Relay For Life calendar of events in Eastern Hillsborough County. Each event starts at 6 p.m. and runs through the next morning. Also noted, next team meeting:

•  Relay For Life of Bloomingdale — March 25 at Bloomingdale High School  

• Relay For Life of FishHawk — March 25 at Newsome High School

• Relay for Life of Riverview — March 26 at Riverview High School

• Relay For Life of Brandon — April 1 at Brandon High School

• Relay For Life of Seffner/Dover — April 1 at Burnett Middle School

• Relay For Life of Plant City — April 8 at Plant City High School

IMPORTANT DATES AND NOTICES: