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Relay for Life is a global program that hosts walk fundraisers across cities, states, and even countries (in collaboration with partner organizations) in order to raise money supporting a spectrum of services to prevent, detect, and treat cancer as well as provide an opportunity to honor and celebrate survivors, those currently fighting, those who've been lost, and the people who love and care for them. e event kicks off with family-friendly festivities and entertainment, followed by the relay, where participants enter as everything from solo walkers to 100-plus-person teams, taking turns walking a track as luminarias, lit in honor of those touched by cancer, illuminate the track. Carly Lackey first experienced the Relay for Life of North County San Diego as a teen in 2007, recruited to sing and play guitar at the event by family friend Dave Mann. A two-time cancer survivor himself, Mann had previously participated in another Relay in San Diego before kicking off the North County edition of the event in Carlsbad in 2006. After her initial experience, Lackey would return to perform annually at the Relays, but she became more involved after her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Lackey started a team to walk in her mother's honor, and then in a shocking twist, Lackey herself received a cancer diagnosis in her 20s. "at definitely threw me for a loop," she says. Her own experience connected her to the cancer journeys of others. "Year after year, everyone hears more and more stories about cancer and how it touches people individually, even just friends or family, and so I have been tied to this event for a long time, and it's become even more increasingly important as the years have gone on," says Lackey, now a cancer survivor. On Saturday, August 23, she will co-chair the 2026 Relay for Life of North County San Diego at the Army and Navy Academy Sports Complex in Carlsbad. e event begins at noon, and walking continues overnight, concluding Sunday morning. "One of the original taglines that I love to always bring back up is 'Cancer never sleeps, so neither will we.' And so that's kind of like the mantra for people whose legs are sore in the middle of the night, and it's quiet, and you want to be done — that's your 'why' for why you're out there doing it. It's pretty special," says Lackey, who adds that not all teams choose to walk overnight. She says this year's goal is to raise $250,000 and have at least 30 teams registered to walk at the relay. Her co-chair, Keith McCormick, has also been connected to the North County Relay since its earliest days. His career has connected him to cancer, in the areas of diagnostics and pharmaceuticals, and it's always been a cause he's supported wholeheartedly. "I have no personal cancer story, but I tell people cancer is a thread that winds its way through every family's tapestry. ere's really no escaping it. We joke about the 'Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,' but the reality is that cancer is one degree of separation," he says. e funds raised at the Relay go directly to the American Cancer Society (ACS), which fights all types of cancer, developing new treatments as well as services that benefit patients and survivors: A toll-free 24-hour helpline offers emotional support, referrals, financial information, and information for caregivers; Hope Lodge communities provide cost-free lodging to patients whose homes are not located near their treatment; volunteer drivers offer rides for patients to receive care. Its impact and management have earned ACS a 4-star rating on Charity Navigator. "ACS' motto at this event is 'Celebrate, Remember, and Fight Back,' and that's what we do every year," says McCormick. cancer.org/involved/fundraise/relay-for-life Focus philanthropy << ranchandcoast.com 56 JULY 2026 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE