Crab Cakes — Relay for Life

EARLENE WARD - SPECIAL TO THE SIERRA STAR


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Gary Smith, a teacher’s assistant (TA), left, and Owen Martin, also a TA,work with Sharon Drosche to wrap candles in foil for the luminaria for this weekend’s American Cancer Society Relay For Life.


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Vaughn Drosche helps his teacher, Lori Blate, cut foil for the luminaria.

They are “Cookin’ Up a Cure for Cancer" to the tune of approximately $5,000. Roman Zabicki and the staff at Crab Cakes have been cookin' up their donations $1 at a time in the local restaurant.

As diners enter the restaurant, they see an old-fashioned stove with a cooking pot on top into which they can put donations. A sign lets the people know that the donations will go to the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life that will be held this weekend at the Yosemite High School track.

A Relay For Life card is also delivered with the bill for the meal. A card is inserted with the check offering the guests an opportunity to make a donation to the Relay.

When they first started their fund-raising campaign, Mr. Zabicki said the servers explained the Relay; later, as the donor cards started increasing on the walls of the restaurant, people started asking about them.

By the May 5 deadline to turn in money, they had raised $2,000 through donations given at the restaurant. Crab Cakes will also have a team at the Relay. The 20 people on the team, mostly restaurant employees, had raised more than $2,800 by last week. Mr. Zabicki said they “will easily hit $5,000” by the time the Relay is over through the donations and the team members' efforts.

Mr. Zabicki has a personal interest in finding a cure for cancer. His sister and his mother died from cancer, and he now has a friend who is terminally ill. Standing in his restaurant where the walls are almost covered with the donor cards for the Relay, Mr. Zabicki says he is “very proud of his staff” for their efforts to help cook up a cure for cancer.

The Relay begins at 9 a.m. Saturday morning [May 17] and will continue for the following 24 hours until 9 a.m. Sunday morning. Throughout that time, one member from each of the teams will be on the track walking or running.

At dusk Saturday, more than 3,000 candles will line the track and the bleachers at YHS, burning in honor of cancer survivors or in memory of those who lost their lives to the disease.

Teams are made up of volunteers who raised at least $100 each for the American Cancer Society. There is a team fee of $150. Teams are sponsored by local businesses, schools, churches, organizations and families.



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