THERE is something very powerful about a community coming together to support a single cause.
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Whether it is hundreds of people gathering in the pre-dawn dark each year to commemorate the Anzac landing in 1915 or hundreds more gathering in Machattie Park on a balmy summer evening to sing carols in the lead-up to Christmas, our community is always at its best when we come together as one.
It will happen again this weekend.
On Saturday, hundreds of Bathurstians will gather at All Saints’ College’s Watson Oval for the 2018 Cancer Council Relay For Life.
The relay’s primary function is to raise much-needed money to support ongoing cancer research in a bid to finally find a cure.
And cancer is a cause that has touched us all in some way.
No family in Bathurst can claim to have no experience of the pain and dread that a cancer diagnosis can bring.
Whether it is a partner’s diagnosis, a parent’s, a child’s, an aunty or uncle’s, a cousin or a friend’s, we all know someone who has been given that terrible news. And we all know someone whose life has been taken by the terrible disease.
It is for those people that participants in this year’s relay will spend 19 hours or so either walking laps of the picturesque Watson Oval or relaxing in camp chairs beside the track and chatting with friends.
And it’s that sense of community and camaraderie that makes Relay For Life much more than just another fundraiser.
It is also an opportunity for a community to come together and just be.
We live in an age when people are more connected online than ever but reports of loneliness are at an all-time high.
We live in an age when people can have thousands of Facebook friends but can’t find a mate to speak with when they’re feeling down.
And we live in an age when community events like Relay For Life serve a far greater purpose than just putting together a few dollars for a cause.
As the city of Bathurst continues to grow, many fear that we will somehow lose our sense of community.
It’s a valid concern but nothing will stop the march of progress.
If we value our community, then it is up to all of us to keep it alive – regardless of how big the city gets. And events like Relay For Life will help make that happen.