HOUGHTON - The Copper Country Relay For Life hasn't officially kicked off yet, but it is already going.
Team captains picked up their fundraising packets for the annual American Cancer Society event at the Best Western Franklin Square Inn in Houghton Tuesday night. This year's Relay will take place June 26-27 at the Houghton High School track.
The official kickoff will take place April 22 at the Franklin Square Inn. This year's theme is "Relay Around The World."
This year's goal is $140,000, the same as last year, said Carl Fulsher, American Cancer Society community representative for the Upper Peninsula Area Service Center in Kingsford.
Fulsher was worried about the effect of the economic downturn on donations, but he's been getting good feedback, he said.
"The show will go on," he said. "I'm not sure if we'll raise as much as before, but it won't be for lack of trying."
Dawn Bardo, is in her third year with Walmart's Relay team, and her second year as co-captain.
"I just started working at Walmart, and they asked me if I wanted to be part of a team," she said.
Last year, the team earned a $5,000 grant from Walmart for the Relay for having at least 15 volunteers with at least 50 hours of services.
Bardo and Nicci Verran, also a Walmart captain, both like how Relay brings people together.
"The unity, the togetherness, the purpose," Verran said. "Remembering those that have passed."
Garrett Neese can be reached at gneese@mininggazette.com.