Its First Quarter Century

Help Celebrate

25 Years of Hope!



What began in 1985 as one man’s passion to make a difference in the fight against cancer has swelled into the world’s largest nonprofit fundraising movement, today involving more than 5,000 communities worldwide, including right here in Androscoggin County.

The power of one individual to truly make a difference is clearly seen in the American Cancer Society Relay For Life, which has grown from one man and one walk to a truly global grassroots movement uniting more than 3.5 million participants in the U.S. and 19 other countries. Relay For Life provides cancer survivors, their loved ones and caregivers and others who wish to celebrate, remember and fight back against the disease, with an opportunity to come together and share in the message of hope.

In 2009, Relay For Life commemorates its 25th year as well as Dr. Gordy Klatt’s 83-mile journey around a Tacoma, Washington, athletic track, where in walking, running and raising $27,000 for the American Cancer Society, the colorectal surgeon established an event that has made a difference in the lives of countless people he has never met. Twenty five years later, Dr. Klatt continues his involvement in his local community, reflecting the spirit of millions of Relayers around the globe.

“Relay For Life affords the people of Androscoggin County such a wonderful opportunity to participate in the American Cancer Society’s mission of promoting healthy lifestyles, saving lives and providing personal assistance to those affected by the cancer experience. We’ve seen such great progress in all these areas, and Relay gives Maine residents the chance to make a difference in so many lives,” said Megan Barrett, Community Executive for the American Cancer Society.

Relay For Life participants’ unified call to action supports the American Cancer Society’s nearly 100-year commitment to save lives. The Society, the nation’s best-known voluntary health organization, helps people stay well, by preventing cancer or detecting it early; get well, by being in their corner through every step of their cancer experience; by finding cures, through groundbreaking research and treatment discoveries; and by fight backing, through influencing public policy.

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