Relay For Life of Escambia County will officially kick off its fundraising efforts with a rally Thursday, Oct. 17.

The event — which raises money for the American Cancer Society — will feature speakers from the community who are helping to plan the 2014 Relay, and it will also honor cancer survivors.

The kickoff also will be the first opportunity to register a team for the Relay, to be held on March 15, 2014, at the Brewton YMCA.

The world’s largest grassroots fundraising movement, Relay For Life mobilizes communities throughout the country to celebrate people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and provide participants with an opportunity to fight back against the disease. Relay For Life brings together friends, families, businesses, hospitals, schools, faith-based groups — people from all walks of life — all aimed at furthering the American Cancer Society’s vision of creating a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

Relay For Life began in 1985 with one man who walked and ran around a track for 24 hours and raised $27,000 for the American Cancer Society.

Each year, Relay For Life takes place in 5,000 communities in the United States and 20 other countries to raise funds to support the Society’s mission of saving lives by helping people stay well, by helping people get well, by finding cures and by fighting back.