Local Teens Recognized for Fundraising Efforts

At Lutheran High School on July 9th and 10th, local teen, Sarah Sutherlin pulled together a team for 2010's Relay For Life of Central Saint Charles and received the Top Youth Team Award. The Relay For Life of Central Saint Charles brings the community together to fight against cancer.

As captain of the Terminators relay team, Sutherlin encouraged 30 girls from her freshman class at Villa Duchesne High School, including Haley Thomas, another local Lake Saint Louis teen, to participate in fundraising activities. Seventeen of the 30 girls were able to attend the event Friday night.

The Top Youth Team Award honors the youth team who raised the most money for the charity. The Terminators collectively raised 3,027 dollars by holding a Christmas Caroling event this past winter, and through individual team members' fundraising throughout this spring.

The evening included activities such as the actual walk/run, face painting, a hula-hoop contest, ZUMBA, cake eating contests, and more. Throughout the event the Terminators also sold baked goods, and made an additional 80 dollars.

The theme of the event was "Cruising for a World with More Birthdays." The Relay For Life Event allowed participants to step into the shoes of a cancer patient, symbolizing the fight against cancer that many patients face.

Sutherlin said, "By 6am in the morning, our bodies hurt but we realized that people who are battling cancer feel like this all the time." The event allowed for celebration of the lives of those who fought against cancer and those who are still fighting today.

The American Cancer Society, a nationwide, community-based, voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer through research, education, advocacy, and service, sanctioned the event.