Volunteers Madeline Mattioli (center) and John and Melissa Frates walk for Team Acrish
BREWSTER – Enthusiasm reached a fevered pitch on the Brewster High School campus Saturday evening when Putnam’s newest Relay for Life, a fundraiser that benefits the American Cancer Society, stepped off on the school’s track.
The Brewster Relay joined Relays for Life in Mahopac and Patterson which are two of the more successful events nationwide.
With the turnout and amount of money raised in Brewster, the “little kid on the block” will soon join the ranks of its big brothers.
Rose Aglieco, a member of the Event Leadership Committee, reported more than $75,000 was collected for the Cancer Society thanks to the efforts of a small army of volunteers and 26 teams led by Team Acrish, which raised over $11,000. Team Acrish remembers the late rabbi of Temple Beth Eloheim, Sol Acrish, who lost his battle to the insidious disease last year.
Katie DiVenuto, who helped to create the Brewster relay participated in Relays for Life in Somers. “We often wondered why not in Brewster?”
Tracey Walsh of Carmel, community manager of the American Cancer Society, who oversees the county’s relays, often visited the Brewster School District for its Wellness Awareness Day. “Another one of our amazing volunteers, Tina Aulabaugh of Brewster, last year organized a team and took part in the Patterson Relay. Everyone had such a good time that Katie was able to whip up the magic sauce and the result is Brewster’s first Relay for Life.”
Walsh described Putnam’s Relays for Life as “sister relays–not competitive relays. We are a family with the simple goal of raising as much money as we can. Together we want to raise more not less. In addition, Relays for Life bring knowledge about the services provided by the American Cancer Society to residents of our county in need.”
