Petrol prices are not putting a damper on Waimate High School’s fundraising efforts.
The school has already raised over $15,000 for their Relay For Life event.
The event, which takes place tomorrow night, was held every second year.
Co-organiser teacher Ashleigh Nicolson said the school’s goal had been to raise $10,000, but they had already surpassed that.
“In this economic climate everything over is a massive bonus,” Mrs Nicolson said.
She said with rising fuel and food prices she had been “blown away” by the amount of money raised.
Over 125 of the school’s 300 students had signed up to participate.
When a cancer society staff member had asked her what the school’s secret was to raising large sums, she had put it down to the school’s supportive community.
She said that community was their “why and their how”.
The first lap of the night was the survivors’ lap, for those who had been directly affected by cancer.
She said while students were quite quiet about their family’s journey with cancer, she knew a few who had been affected.
Teacher Tom Atwill was also organising the event this year, he said the school punched above its weight when its size was compared with a similar event held in Dunedin the following day.
Mr Atwill said that in Waimate, “if one person gets cancer it ripples through the community”.
“We have each other’s backs.”
