Relay for Life teams will kick off their fundraising plans with an event Monday night.

Relay Chairwoman Sharon Peacock said teams are already forming, and the Relay date is set for April 2, 2011.

“The committee has decided on a theme for the 2011 Relay for Life event,” Peacock said. “The theme is ‘One World – One Cure’ will be used on event day.”

Peacock said some teams have already chosen individual themes and have made commitments to participate in the fundraising that benefits the American Cancer Society.

“With our theme this year teams will be selecting countries, cities and states as their campsite décor,” Peacock said. “There are still plenty of choices and still plenty of time to form a team.”

Peacock said organizers will hold a kickoff at 5:30 p.m. Monday at the Neal Auditorium at Jefferson Davis Community College.

“We want to hold our annual kick-off event to let everyone know what the specific plans are for the 2011 Relay event,” Peacock said.

Peacock said commitments from teams will help to make the $67,000 goal a reality.

“We hope to increase the number of active teams this year,” Peacock said. “Teams can be made up of members from a business, a school, a service club or organization or just a group of friends or a neighborhood.”

To be recognized as an official team, Peacock said 10 members must be registered for each group.

“An official team consists of 10 members,” Peacock said. “Silent teams can also be formed with as many members as possible. A silent team is a group of people that raise money throughout the year but don’t actually set up and participate on the day of Relay. Any kind of team will help us in reaching our goal.”

Peacock said finding teams to participate in the event isn’t the only work that needs to be done by Relay organizers.

“We also need to get sponsorships from area businesses and patrons to put on Relay,” Peacock said. “It costs around $5,000 to $6,000 to host the community wide event. Sponsors help to cover that cost.”

Several goals are in place for the 2011 event, Peacock said.

“Our goal is to have a minimum of 25 active teams participating in the Relay event,” Peacock said. “We also have a goal of $8,800 for sponsorships and a luminaria goal of $2,500. Our fundraising goal is $65,00 with a $3,250 goal for each team.”

The Relay for Life Committee will be holding special events throughout the fundraising period to collect donations for cancer research.

“As a committee we have several events planned that will allow the public to get involved through activities and donations,” Peacock said. “We will host the Bark for Life event as well as a golf tournament as part of our fundraising. We are also planning an art night and some photography events. We want this to be a community project and these events will let folks who aren’t on a team have a chance to make a difference through their participation and donations.”

Peacock said any group interested in forming a team may contact her for details and information on setting up an official team.

Anyone interested in forming a team or in serving on the Relay for Life planning committee, may contact Peacock at 809-4845 or by email at sharongpeacock@hotmail.com.