Community comes together for Relay
Published 10:43 pm Tuesday, April 10, 2018
The Lake Prince Woods retirement community prides itself on going all out for Relay for Life.
In years past, the community has hosted fundraising events to benefit Suffolk’s Relay for Life, and that is continuing again this year with their rummage sale.
“I think the cancer survivors that we have living here have made it apparent that they want to raise funds for this,” said Director of Resident Services Denise Brown. “We have folks that have survived cancer and those that have lost loved ones to cancer. They get the opportunity to participate and help raise money.”
The rummage sale will feature tables full of home décor, jewelry, clothes, furniture and even homemade items. Anyone that wants to sell things for the cause can purchase a table for $25.
“This is really a chance for people to clear out their closets and their kitchens,” Brown said.
The residents help not only by selling some of their own items but also by pricing other items and choosing a charity to which to donate the remaining items.
The community has raised $600 for Relay for Life so far this year, and the participants are looking to double that with the rummage sale. Last year, the rummage sale brought in $700, and this year they set their goal to $750.
The community also provides a team that participates in the Relay.
“This community is very supportive. We have a six- to eight-member team that participates every year. We will have a trackside site and have purple sunglasses for sale,” Brown said.
The money they have already raised has come from sales of luminarias and cardboard cupcakes that line the walls of the facility. The small cardboard cupcake says, “help us create a world with more birthdays.”
Brown said the members’ participation in Relay for Life and other nonprofit events benefits themselves as well as the American Cancer Society.
“It’s a piece of retirement that people don’t look at. It’s what they do with their time now,” Brown said. “This group of active older adults is very service-minded, and we provide an outlet for the community service for them. It’s also social accountability for us, because we aren’t a for-profit community.”
Lake Prince Woods residents also participate with the Walk to End Alzheimer’s and other local charities.
“It gives me that heart-warming fuzzy feeling,” Brown said. “I love these folks for what they do and what they give back.”
The rummage sale will be held at Lake Prince Woods, 100 Anna Goode Way, in the Portsmouth Room. The sale will last from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m on April 14.
Suffolk’s Relay for Life is just over a month away on May 18 at Nansemond River High School. The event will be from 6 p.m. to midnight. More information is available on the Facebook page.