This weekend Bupa Care Services staff will help raise awareness for Cancer Society New Zealand with their Relay for Life team.  Thirteen corporate and care home staff will run and walk around Mt Smart stadium for eighteen hours non stop starting at 4.00pm Saturday 18 March, all for cancer awareness.

Care home residents are getting behind this worthy cause by turning up on Saturday and participating in a few laps around the track. Some will walk and some will be pushed in wheel chairs all in the name of cancer awareness.

Residents from Bupa's David Lange Care Home in Mangere are expected to arrive at Mt Smart Stadium at 4.30pm to take part in a couple of laps.


About Relay for Life

Relay For Life is not a race - it's a celebration and awareness raising event for cancer survivors, their carers, whānau and friends.

The concept of Relay For Life began in 1985, when Dr Gordon Klatt, a surgeon and American Cancer Society volunteer, ran and walked 81 miles on a local track for 24 hours. He raised $27,000 for the American Cancer Society. From his experience the Relay For Life event evolved. Today, Relay is the world's largest cancer fundraising event in 23 countries around the world. It is also the American Cancer Society's signature programme for advocacy and cancer awareness.

In 2001 the Cancer Society of New Zealand held their first Relay For Life in Palmerston North. It was a tremendous success raising $189,000. In 2002 Otago/Southland, Canterbury/West Coast, and Central Regions held Relay For Life events. Other Divisions around the country soon followed with their own Relay success stories.

In 2011, 17 Relays were held across New Zealand and raised nearly $3 million.  

Relay is a wonderful source of inspiration for thousands of people year after year. Resourced by volunteers and supported by many community-minded businesses, Relay For Life unites the community in the fight against cancer.