To the Cancer Council and the amazing Perth Relay for Life Committee, what a wonderful 24 hours. I felt extremely privileged to volunteer with my daughter Cindy over the weekend. It was fantastic to see all the pieces of this event join together. Lead by leaders that displayed clear communication enabled the time giving volunteers to go about their duties to ensure a great time was had by all who were present. From a mental health perspective, I place emphasis on the words great time. The nature of this event has such an emotional impact. The highs of why we all attend and do what we do. Primarily raising money for research so that one day we will beat cancer. To the lows as we remember our loved ones who have sadly lost their battle or, the ones that are striving before our eyes to be a survivor of this disease. The amount of effort that goes into the orgainsing of such a huge event seems insignificant compared to the amount of effort each individual has to muster up once they have been told they have cancer.

To the energetic and purpose driven teams. Listening to the many stories of why they participate resonated closely having lost my mum, mother in law and several other close family friends over the years. People told their journeys and some teams mentioned that they have been participating every year for 16 years. From a team of 4 to teams of 20 plus, all with the same vision to carry a baton around the oval non stop for 24 hours. The effort put in by teams to display wonderful tents with bright banners stating clear messages of prevention strategies, to symbolic meanings indivudalised for their team made this event thought provoking and colourful.

There were many highlights Cindy and I witnessed during the 24 hours. One being a reassuring message that came from the team who raised the highest corporate amount for the year. The team captain advised everyone present that they would continue to participate and raise these much needed funds because they knew unquestionably that the money does go into research to find a cure for cancer.

Relay for Life 2016 is now complete. Preparation of Relay for Life 2017 is now well underway for The Cancer Council of WA, the Relay for Life Committee and the Teams that want to continue their journey of making a difference. Cindy and I will be back with the many other wonderful volunteers that also make this event what it is.

Perceptions Matter and "Hope Lives Here".