Last summer, 61 teams and 21 corporate sponsors from around Fidalgo and Guemes islands raised more than $156,000 while participating in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life of Anacortes.

With their sights set on topping both those figures, the relay’s steering committee is giving a final push for this year’s June 27-28 event.

“Each year, the Relay for Life of Anacortes has been one of the American Cancer Society’s most consistently successful Northwest events,” said Don Spurling, relay chairperson.

Relay for Life teams raise funds via bake sales, car washes, benefit concerts and even “renting” their high school students out for yard work.

“While we have always viewed Relay for Life in a serious vein — to raise funds to find a cure for this terrible disease — it is also a way for everyone to get together, camp out under the stars, play games and visit with their friends and neighbors,” said Jenn Kube, this year’s event co-chair.

The next Relay for Life team meetings are 7 p.m. Wednesdays, May 21 and June 11 in the courtroom at the Anacortes Police Department. Everyone is invited to attend. The theme of this year’s event is “There’s No Place Like Hope.”

Every dollar raised by the teams is used by the American Cancer Society to continue its funding of cancer research, its legislative advocacy and the society’s many educational and patient service programs. This can be accomplished only through the generosity of the many area businesses that serve as corporate sponsors.

To learn more about forming or registering a team or to sign on as a corporate sponsor, contact Don Spurling at 770-0390 or or Kim Neff at (425) 322-1136 or .