Although the rain and fog didn’t make for an ideal Saturday night at Frank M. Charles Memorial Park, the weather didn’t stop the Howard Beach community from rallying together in support of one common goal at the third annual Relay for Life this weekend – finding a cure for cancer.
Residents from Howard Beach as well as the surrounding areas, joined together to raise money for the American Cancer Society, while celebrating the successful battles of those who have defeated the disease and also remembering those loved ones who have been lost to cancer.
Phyllis Inserillo, the chairperson for the Howard Beach relay, has organized this event for the past three years and she says that the community stays up all night as a symbol for those who have battled cancer.
“Relay for Life is [when] we celebrate our survivors,” she said. “Then we remember those who have passed from cancer with our luminaria ceremony. And then we fight back all night by staying up. Cancer never sleeps so that’s the idea behind relay. Cancer never sleeps, so for one night, we’re showing them that we’re not going to sleep until there’s an end to cancer.”
Inserillo gets help from her best friend, Melissa Fochetta. Fochetta isn’t just a co-chair of the event, but someone who has won her battle with thyroid cancer, and is now cancer-free for the last seven years. She couldn’t feel any prouder than when she walks out onto that field for the first lap of the night – the survivor lap – while everyone is watching and clapping.
“It’s like a badge of honor to wear that purple shirt and to take that first lap,” she said. “You beat cancer and it’s just the best feeling on earth.”
Dorothy Langan is also cancer-free for six years and a member of “Friends for Life.” She says her family used to attend the Rockaway Relay for Life, but now they have been to the Howard Beach event for three straight years.
“This one is more family oriented,” she said. “They have a lot of activities that get a lot of people involved, encouraging you to go out there and try to get sponsors to help raise money. It’s more organized.”
“It’s great to see the turnout,” said Kevin Barone, a volunteer and resident of Howard Beach. “It’s great to see the neighborhood come together. I think we break records here so it’s phenomenal.”
Kim Trinchese and Suzanne Mendolia’s team “Forever Friends” raised over $18,000 this year, an incredible difference from the $4,000 from last year’s total.
“It’s such a great thing that they do here,” Trinchese said. “And it lets [those affected] know that you can survive it and it’s going to be okay.”
Relays for Life take place in many areas throughout Queens, but according to Inserillo, the Howard Beach event is the most successful relay in the entire borough, raising roughly $175,000 each year, with every single dollar going to the American Cancer Society.
“Melissa and I – we live and breathe relay – from the moment this one ends, we’ll start working on next year’s,” Inserillo said. “The two of us started this, we run it and for us to be able to say, ‘All of these people come together from our efforts’ is amazing. It’s community and it’s all going to a good cause. It’s very special for us. My best friend and I, we get to do this together so we have a lot of fun.”
To learn more about this event, or to participate in next year’s Relay for Life, visit www.relayforlife.org/howardbeachny.
