R&B singer, songwriter and actor Mario and Olympic gold medalist Gail Devers will share the ways cancer has affected those they love during the annual American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life of Gwinnett County, which begins Friday.
The event, which is in its 24th year, is billed as the world’s largest “Relay for Life” event.
Relay for Life raises money for the Atlanta-based American Cancer Society and awareness about the disease.
It kicks off at 4 p.m. Friday and ends at 6:30 a.m. Saturday at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds, 2405 Sugarloaf Pkwy. in Lawrenceville. The event will be held rain or shine.
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Mario, whose hits have included "Just a Friend" and "Let Me Love You" will perform on the main stage at 7:35 p.m. Friday, following the Survivors Lap and purple glove dance. Mario will spend time at the Survivors’ Reception from 5:15 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.
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at 10 p.m. Devers, a retired track and field athlete, will lead the luminaria ceremony.
In 2017, the organization estimates there will be more than 1.69 million new cancer cases diagnosed and 600,920 cancer deaths in the United States.
The public is invited to attend.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority is among the national partners.
The Upsilon Alpha Omega Chapter of AKA, has been participating in the event for more than 15 years and during that time has raised more than $100,000 .
“We do this because we have so many members who have been affected by cancer,” said Andria Daniels, president of the Gwinnett County chapter. “We have cancer survivors. We have those in our chapter who has lost loved ones to cancer, including myself. I lost my mom to cancer. We want to end cancer in our lifetimes.”
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