Held at the Boksburg City Stadium on 23 March, the overnight event was one of a series held around the world each year to unite cancer survivors and the communities that care about them. In SA, the events are also held to raise funds for the Cancer Association (CANSA).

The East Rand relay was very well attended with more than 3500 people participating, including 123 cancer survivors. The idea behind the relays is that cancer never sleeps, so that at least one member of each team (consisting of up to 15 participants) must be walking or running around the track at all times during the 12-hour event.

When not doing their laps, the participants in the East Rand relay enjoyed camping-out, entertainment by a variety of celebrities, good food, games and community camaraderie in a fun-filled and festive atmosphere.

There is an urgent need in SA to hold more relays like this because CANSA no longer receives any State funding. All proceeds generated by these events are desperately needed to assist the organization in continuing to deliver its vital and often life-saving services.

Denver Ramnath, principal of AIDA Boksburg and one of the most enthusiastic corporate participants in the most recent event, says: "It is now up to individual communities and the companies that operate within them to support CANSA otherwise they stand the risk of having no representation or assistance within their own areas. We feel very strongly about this cause and in addition to fielding three teams, we also sold food and other items in order to raise further funds during this event".

AIDA Boksburg also ran a month-long SMS donation campaign ahead of the actual relay in which its agents and staff reached out to all those in their business and personal networks as well as in the AIDA franchise network countrywide. This opened up the opportunity for outlying people and companies to also contribute to the fight against cancer.

Ramnath says his agency was delighted with the very generous response to all their fund raising efforts, which enabled it to generate more than R40 000 for CANSA. AIDA Boksburg was also awarded the corporate spirit trophy for the event and Felicity Coetzer from AIDA was honoured with the award for the individual who collected the most money for CANSA.

"We are also very proud of the way that other local businesses, and in fact the entire East Rand community, supported this event and together raised over R1m – which is a record for any Relay for Life in SA. This is an outstanding example of what people can do if they work together, which is the true ideal of the Relay for Life movement," says Ramnath.

Issued by Aida National Franchises

Aida Head Office: 012 682 9600
Contact: Ester Odendaal
Aida Boksburg: 011 917 3135
Contact: Denver Ramnath (083 263 8576)