Imagine an event in which Mary Kay cosmetics, Silpada jewelry and other vendors are present for a special party, from which proceeds go the American Cancer Society.
You would then have an idea behind the Relay for Life of Olmsted County, set for later this month in Rochester.
"Every dollar is the best thing," said Andrea Judd, an organizer of the event whose grandmother is a breast-cancer survivor. "I know how horrible (the disease can be) and how much a dollar makes a difference."
Judd said six vendors or people will participate in the event: Mary Kay cosmetics, Norwex online shopping, Silpada jewelry, Little Dudes and Diva's Salon, At Home America, and former KROC-FM radio personality C.J. Jensen, who makes her own line of jewelry.
The event also will feature a lunch donated by Rochester's Whistle Binkie's Pub and a silent auction. One of the packages that participants will have a chance to bid on is a wedding cake valued at $700.
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All vendors, Judd said, have agreed to donate a portion of the proceeds generated at the event to the American Cancer Society.
A graduate of Rochester Century High School and a nursing student at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Judd, 20, said she began working on organizing Relay for Life during winter break. She said the issue is personal for her. In addition to her grandmother, Judd said, her boyfriend's grandmother is living with terminal cancer.
The event runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with the silent auction starting at noon. A representative of the American Cancer Society will speak before the start of the auction.
Juggling school and organizing a fundraiser can be time-consuming, but "it's very important to me," Judd said. She is also getting help from a co-organizer and friend, Megan Hudson.
"I'm hoping and expecting a good turnout," she said.
