The Dawson County Relay for Life held a kick-off for its 2009 fundraising event Jan. 26 at the First Baptist Church of Dawsonville.

“A Cancer Free World” is the theme for this year’s event, in which Dawson County has a goal to have 25 teams participating and an event goal to raise $85,000.

Relay For Life is the American Cancer Society’s signature activity, a fundraiser that provides funds for cancer research. It offers everyone in a community an opportunity to participate.

Teams of people camp out at a local high school, park, or fairground and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Relays are an overnight event, up to 24 hours in length.

This year marks Dawson County’s 13th annual Relay For Life event.

This year’s chairman John Cronan said, “We know that we are going to be up against some hard economic times and as far as fundraising is concerned, we are going to look more at the importance of the event.”

Optimistic about this year’s campaign and encouraging participants to not be discouraged if the goal is not met, Cronan added that coming together as a community to pull off the event is the most important thing, regardless of the amount raised.

“If we raise $10 or $100,000 I will be happy,” he said.

The local event will be held May 8 and 9 from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

For more information or questions about how to get involved, contact Suzanne Hendricks at (770) 297-1176.