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Fauquier County Relay for Life paints the town purple
This year, Carole Overman and Jennifer Scarborough, co-chairs for Fauquier County's Relay event, came up with a way to reach out to other communities, build comraderie, and raise loads of money.
Heading the effort for the second year in a row, the pair attended a national fundraising conference for American Cancer Society in October, where a fellow participant used the phrase “purple army.” They decided to put it on a T-shirt and, with the help of Leading Edge Screen Printing in Warrenton, came up with a clever design to play on the phrase. The front of the shirt says “I'm Part of the Purple Army” and the back reads: “There is a war. Join the battle. Fight back against cancer.”
Sales have been brisk locally, earning the organization about $2,000, and Overman said the pair decided that the shirt might appeal to other Relay for Life participants. Turns out, they were right. After making it available online, the Fauquier County chapter has taken orders from at least 23 different states for more than 1,000 shirts. The shirt sells for $15 and the local chapter receives a portion of each sale, she explained.
“It's been really, really neat. It's done so well that we're going to have to come up with another great design [for next year],” Overman said, noting that the organization also sells a shirt designed for caregivers.
Each sale brings the Fauquier chapter closer to its $280,000 goal, Overman said, noting that by mid-April the group had raised more than $70,000. Last year, $279,000 was raised in Fauquier County, she said.
“We still have a lot of big events coming up,” she said. About 1200 volunteers participate in Relay for Life events and fundraisers, said Overman, who has been involved with the organization for seven years.
“Everyone is touched by cancer. I don't know anybody who doesn't know somebody who's been touched by it,” Overman noted, adding that she appreciates the fact that 60 percent of donations stay in the local region. Forty percent go to national research, she said.
For more information about Relay for Life or to order a shirt, visit www.fauquierrelay.com .
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