Relay for Life Organizer Walks the Walk When Helping to Fight Cancer

A year ago, Abigail Stonerook from Plymouth gave up her long blond locks while individually in the fight against kids' cancer with the St. Baldrick's Foundation's annual head-shaving fundraiser.

In the midst of a job hunt at the time, she said, her friends and family cautioned her that finding employment might prove difficult with a more radical hairdo.

For Stonerook, however, the bold step helped prove she had the passion for a longer-term fight against cancer.

Stonerook, who now works with the American Cancer Society, is organizing this year's Relay for Life event with a group of volunteers at the Central Middle School football field from July 22-23. In addition to organizing the event, however, Stonerook is taking it one step further by walking the relay course each day for 100 days before the event with her dog, Vivian—a nod to the 100th anniversary of the American Cancer Society.

Relay for Life—which began in 1985 when Dr. Gordon Klatt circled a track in Washington for 24 hours while raising $27,000 to fight cancer—now is the world's largest nonprofit fundraiser, raising more than $4 billion to date.

Stonerook said she was inspired to walk the course each day after looking in the mirror while fixing her short-cropped hair before heading to an event in honor of a friend who had lost her battle with cancer in 2012 and wishing her friend was there with her sporting a matching hairdo.

"Relay's 24 hours," Stonerook said. "But I thought maybe I could do it just a little bit longer."

So each day since late January, Stonerook and her dog walk to the Central Middle School football field and make a lap around the track. 

"We're thinking about all those people who have lost their lives to cancer and the ones who we're still fighting for."

The Relay for Life begins 10 a .m. June 22 at the Central Middle School football field and begins with a celebration of cancer survivors, followed by a luminaria lighting and all-night, team-based walk around a candlelit track. Read Abigail Stonerook's blog on Patch for more information.

SEE MORE ON PATCH

• Taking Action to Finish the Fight: 100 Days of Relay
• Relay For Life of Plymouth Planning Meeting
• Plymouth Woman Among Volunteers Going Bald for a Cause