Relay for Life this weekend




FULL HOUSE—The city of Agoura Hills has been a top fundraiser for the Relay for Life in each of the last five years. This year, Team Agoura Hills raised $10,000 using a poker tournament.

FULL HOUSE—The city of Agoura Hills has been a top fundraiser for the Relay for Life in each of the last five years. This year, Team Agoura Hills raised $10,000 using a poker tournament.

More than 80 teams from the Conejo Valley will walk around the clock at the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life this weekend at Willow Elementary School in Agoura Hills.

Starting at 10 a.m. Sat., April 24 and ending 24 hours later on Sun., April 25, the Relay combines fun with a cause that is good.

The city of Agoura Hills will again participate in the Relay. The 14 members on the team raised $10,000 at a “Texas Hold ’em” tournament at the Renaissance Hotel on April 17. The $60 buy-in included dinner and a night of poker. There were also two blackjack tables, said administrative secretary Sheila Keckhut.

The city hopes to raise a total of $20,000 for the charity this year, Keckhut said.

“We are about halfway there,” said Kelly Fisher, public works project manager. “We tend to aim high when it comes to setting our goal. We were able to do it a couple of years ago, but obviously people don’t have as much money to donate these days, so we appreciate anything we get. No donation is too high or low. If we can help save a life or bring awareness to cancer, then we have accomplished our goal.”

The city has entered a Relay team in each of the past five years, Fisher said. The team has been a top fundraiser for the charity, having raised more than $60,000 over the years for the American Cancer Society.

“Having only 35 employees, we are more of a close-knit group as far as government agencies go,” Fisher said. “As such, we took a ‘family’ vote and decided to participate in this year’s Relay because it is such a large community event, and all of us at the city have been affected by this horrible disease to some degree.”

Event chair Alyssa Burns is an employee in the Agoura Hills Community Services Department. Fisher said the city wanted to support her efforts to make this year’s Relay as successful as those in the past.

In addition to the Relay providing a common goal for all city employees, the event helps to promote the city’s new health and wellness program, Fisher said.

Besides music, information booths, food and a luminaria ceremony—where people pay tribute to a beloved family member or friend who has either died from cancer or is fighting cancer—there will be a silent auction with themed baskets available to buy.

Forty-one members of the Los Cerritos Middle School Relay team in Thousand Oaks have raised more than $3,400 toward their $5,000 goal.

The High School at Moorpark College has 30 team members participating in the relay. Another team, “Hope For Pink,” has raised $985 toward their $1,500 goal, while the
Maet E’fil team has raised $925 with the expectation of raising a total of $1,600.

The “Sicky Sicky Gnar Gnar” team comprising members of the Westlake Key Club collected $575 toward their $2,000 goal.

The Lindero Canyon Middle School Recycling Club has already met their goal of raising $375 for the cause. Eighth-grade team members at the school hope to raise an additional $2,000.

The “Con(cure)able” team has collected $875 toward their goal of $1,500 and The “All You Need is Love” and the “Boobie Brigade Strikes Back” teams have each raised $200 so far. To join a team or contribute to the fight against cancer, visit www.relayforlife.org/agouraca.

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