With last year's Warren County Relay for Life participation considerably lower than in previous years, new co-chairs Shelia Gruenefeld and Carie Biggs recognize they have some work to do. "We want to get more community involvement," Gruenefeld said, following Monday's kickoff meeting at First State Community Bank. Relay organizers have begun going business-to-business to gain local support. "We're letting them know so they are aware," Gruenefeld said. "What we've found so far is that a lot of them didn't know they could come to the fundraising walk. They thought it was just for teams." The Relay for Life will begin at 6 p.m. Friday, June 1, and conclude at 6 a.m. Saturday, June 2, at Black Hawk Middle School in Warrenton. Participants will take part in the largest fundraising walk in the nation around the school's track. A variety of activities are held throughout the evening and morning to bring awareness to the disease. Last year, a goal of $60,000 was set. Relay organizers said $48,761 was raised, the majority of which came from Relay teams' fundraisers throughout the year. A goal of $50,000 has been set for this year. While organizers selected a theme this year of "Holidays," they said they did not want to reveal all changes made for the year. "We're not going to announce everything yet," Gruenefeld said. "We're going to reveal things meeting by meeting so it's a surprise. Hopefully that will hold the teams' interest and get more people to sign up." Each team selected a major holiday from a hat during Monday's meeting and will decorate their campsite around the track according to the holiday they selected. "It's about celebrating one more holiday," Gruenefeld said. "One more Christmas or one more Fourth of July. It's about celebrating those with family and friends." This year, organizers have also created an adopt a survivor program. "There are those survivors who don't have a team and following the fundraising walk, there really wasn't anywhere for them to go," Biggs said. "This year, each survivor will have a team. Each team that registers will be given a survivor to adopt." Gruenefeld said by teams adopting survivors, it will enhance the feeling of unity. "There's help out there," she said. "You're not alone and everybody cares. This doesn't just affect the survivors. This affects the community." An ongoing canned food drive, organizers said, could also help generate participation. All items collected will be donated to a local food pantry. "It's our way of giving back to the community," said Katie Foster, American Cancer Society staff member. "We'll then use the cans from the food drive to weigh down the luminaria as opposed to sand like we've done in the past." Gruenefeld hopes that by the group integrating itself in the community, it will increase participation. She acknowledged, however, that potential participants are often hesitant about registering. "I think a lot of people think this is just about the money," she said. "The money does help, but really it's more about the community involvement and then the money sort of falls into place." Individuals or teams can register at www.relayforlife.org/warrencomo. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 120 Warren County residents are affected by cancer each year. Some of the services available for local cancer patients include a personal health manager to help patients keep track of appointments, medication and other details, an energy assistance program, transportation assistance and support groups. The next Relay for Life meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 5. Other meeting dates are April 2, May 7 and May 29. All meetings begin at 5:30 p.m. at First State Community Bank in Warrenton. A meeting will be rescheduled if Warren County schools are closed for weather. For more information on this year's event, contact Gruenefeld at 636-359-7772, Biggs at 636-485-2391, or Foster at 314-286-8183 or katie.foster@cancer.org.