Relay For Life is a global movement to end cancer. Relay is active in 29 countries and 6,000 communities worldwide, whereby participants commit to raising funds for work against all types of cancer.
Since 1999, Relay has united a collective of Canadians, who are a force-for-life in the face of cancer. At Relay events, participants of all ages gather at a community space and take turns walking around a track or path to symbolize the perseverance and action needed to change the future of cancer.
During Relay, we honour Participants of Hope during our first lap the Lap of Hope. When the sun goes down, luminaries light the track in memory of those we have lost.
Participants are asked to fundraise to:
Wherever your Relay takes place, you will be joining thousands of people across the country who have shown up to support their communities. Join us, and together, we can prove that we are bigger than cancer.
Relay For Life takes place on Saturday, June 10, 2023. Check out your local Relay event for time and venue information.
Relay For Life takes place in communities across the country. Sign up in your community here. If you don’t see your community listed, you can still be part of Relay For Life by choosing Relay Your Way.
Relay For Life is organized and executed by volunteer committees, supported by the Canadian Cancer Society staff. The generous support of volunteers helps keep costs down, which directs more money to fund groundbreaking cancer research, compassionate support services, trusted cancer information and advocacy on behalf of all Canadians. If you would like to be a part of this amazing group of people check out our current volunteer opportunities.
We encourage anyone who wants to participate in Relay For Life to register as a participant online.
If you don’t fundraise a minimum of $150 (adult) or $60 (youth) by event day on Saturday, June 10, 2023, we encourage you to make the personal minimum donation of $45 which is tax receiptable. To help you reach your goal, you can take a look at our Participant Fundraising Toolkit, for fun and easy fundraising ideas.
If you are still having difficulty reaching your fundraising goal, please contact us at connect@cancer.ca or 1-888-939-3333 and someone from our team will gladly provide you with some guidance and tips & tools!
Funds raised through Relay For Life events support groundbreaking research into more than 100 cancer types, programs and services that help people with cancer and their families and advocacy to governments on important cancer-related issues.
Yes. The Canadian Cancer Society’s charitable number is 118829803 RR 0001. When you donate to the Canadian Cancer Society, you will receive a tax receipt.
For more information about national or local sponsorship opportunities, or to interact with participants on event day, please call us toll-free 1-888-939-3333 or email relay@cancer.ca.
We do not encourage volunteers or participants to solicit funds by door-to-door canvassing.
Advisory re: door-to-door canvassing
In our experience, some individuals elect to canvass neighbours in their communities as part of their fundraising efforts.
If you are approached by a canvasser who states that they are raising money for the Canadian Cancer Society, please follow this advice:
No. The Canadian Cancer Society will not share your information with any outside agencies/organizations or individuals without prior consent or if the disclosure is permitted or required by law. For more information, please refer to our Privacy Policy.
Please know that we are committed to honouring physical distancing and protecting the well-being and safety of people living with cancer, event participants, donors, volunteers, staff, and supporters. To ensure your safety, we will observe all public health guidelines and recommendations. We will also adhere to any additional requirements set forth by our venues.
There are 3 ways you can register to participate in Relay For Life:
We can't wait to welcome you at Relay! To register:
If you're starting a new team, you'll have to create a team name that isn't already taken. If you're joining an existing team, you'll need to know the name of the team you want to join.
Choose to fundraise a minimum of $150 (or $60 as a Youth participant) or pay the minimum donation, which is tax receiptable. The minimum amount will increase as we approach event day, following these dates:
Yes, you can. We encourage you to use the same username and password from the last time you participated in Relay For Life.
Click here to recover your username and/or password, or contact Donor Care at connect@cancer.ca or phone 1-888-939-3333. Don’t create a new account.
Yes, you can register offline by downloading a participant form from your Relay site page. If you choose to register with a minimum donation, please take your form to the banking centre indicated to deposit the donation.
Once stamped, please mail your completed participant form to:
ATTN: Gift Processing Department
Canadian Cancer Society
55 St Clair Avenue West, Suite 500
Toronto, Ontario
M4V 2Y7
Please do not mail cash.
Participants who choose to register offline must submit their completed Participant Form to the Gift Processing Department for their donations to be added to their fundraising totals and their team’s, if applicable.
A fast and easy way to register a team is by registering online. Choose your Relay community from our Find an event page. Once you have chosen your Relay community, click on the Sign-Up button. From here you will select the ‘Start a New Team' option and proceed with the registration process.
Choose your Relay community from our Find an event page. Once you have selected your Relay For Life community, click on the Register button. From here, you will be able to select ‘Join a Team' option to join an existing team, or you can restart a team from last year that you were a member of. Another option is to contact the team captain, who can register you on the team.
If you are registering for Relay Your Way or a Relay event that has merged with another, unfortunately, you will not be able to restart a team from previous years. You can still use your username and password from previous years to register and create a new team named as your old team. If you have any questions or difficulties registering your team, please contact us using the live chat on the Relay for Life website or at connect@cancer.ca or 1-888-939-3333.
No. You can have as many or as few members as you would like to form a team.
Yes. Teams can register at any time, including on the day of Relay For Life.
Multi-site teams are teams that are registered in two (2) or more locations. Multi-site teams must also register in one of the two categories (Corporate or Friends & Family). Click here to find out more information on multi-site teams.
Yes, any online donation made to Relay For Life is tax receiptable. For offline donations of $20 or more, receipts will be issued automatically. Tax receipts for offline donations of less than $20 must be requested on the form.
If a donor mistakenly donates to your team and would like to transfer the donation to an individual participant, the donor must contact our Donor Care department by August 31, 2023. After the August 31 date, team donations are non-transferable as the fundraising component of this program has closed.
Relay For Life Donor Care
Tel.: 1-888-939-3333
E-mail: connect@cancer.ca
Hours of Operation: Monday — Friday from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm EST.
When registering, participants can choose to identify themselves as a Participant of Hope. A Participant of Hope is someone living with cancer, a cancer survivor, or carrying a genetic risk for the disease.
It’s a term that conveys inclusiveness.
Cancer can affect our lives in countless ways. Are you living with cancer, a cancer survivor, or carrying a genetic risk for the disease? Let us honour you as a Participant of Hope at Relay For Life.
This year, we are excited to offer unique Fundraising Rewards to Relay For Life participants who hit specific fundraising milestones. To be eligible, participants must be opted in to receive Fundraising Rewards.
Adults who raise $150 and youth who raise $60 will receive their very own Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life t-shirt. General participants will receive a white t-shirt whereas Participants of Hope will receive a yellow t-shirt. We have made this decision to boost fundraising efforts and maximize funds directed to the cancer cause. We appreciate your understanding and your continued commitment to supporting people affected by cancer.
If you have any questions, please contact connect@cancer.ca.
The Lap of Hope is our new name for the Survivors’ Victory Lap. All Participants of Hope are invited to participate in our Lap of Hope at Relay For Life.
The Hope Lounge is our new name for the Survivors’ Tent. During an in-person event, all Participants of Hope are invited to our Hope Lounge and activities at Relay For Life. Check out your Relay event page for details specific to your event and a link to your event’s Facebook page.
Whether you Relay for a parent, child, grandparent, or friend, luminaries are a powerful symbol that our loved ones are always in our hearts. The Luminary Ceremony at Relay For Life allows us to honour and remember those we love, every step of the way.
At Relay For Life, luminaries are candles that are placed in special bags that bear the names of loved ones who have been impacted by cancer. These luminaries allow us to remember those we’ve lost to cancer and honour people living with cancer, cancer survivors, and those who carry a genetic risk to the disease. Participants and supporters often personalize their luminaries with meaningful messages and pictures.
Visit our luminary page to find out more and purchase a luminary.
Experience the magic and emotion of Relay For Life by participating in our Luminary Ceremony. The Luminary Ceremony is a time for quiet reflection and allows us to celebrate, remember and honour those we love every step of the way.
At in-person events, luminaries line and light up the track with names, pictures, and meaningful messages.
If you do not see your community listed in our Relay events, join Relay Your Way — a Relay site for everyone, no matter where you live. Register, fundraise and walk in your community on Saturday, June 10, 2023.
On event day, why not walk your dog, go for a bike ride, do yoga, or even stay home and make a big dinner for your loved ones? Whatever your passion may be, you can recruit friends and family to join you in supporting the cause and making a difference.
You will be eligible for tax receipts and fundraising rewards.
Your Fundraising Centre contains customizable tools for emailing friends and family, tracking online donations, team status, and much, much more.
Your fundraising page is an online page that highlights your fundraising efforts. Participants can customize content and images on their fundraising page from the Fundraising Centre.
For all returning participants, you may notice the personal story section of your profile on relayforlife.ca has been replaced with default text. This is a result of some Relay For Life sites merging over the past two years. If you would like us to transfer your original message to the new system, we will be happy to assist you.
If you are a returning Relay For Life participant who has signed up for Relay Your Way or a different event location, you will need to manually update your personal story and picture if you choose to. If you have any questions, please contact us by using the live chat on the Relay For Life website or at connect@cancer.ca or 1-888-939-3333.
Yes. If you registered as a returning participant with your previous username, all your donor information will be available under the email contact section of your Fundraising Centre.
If you are manually entering email addresses to your contact list, please do not separate the addresses using a colon (;). Kindly use a comma (,) to separate the addresses.
If the issue persists, please contact Donor Care at connect@cancer.ca or 1-888-939-3333.
If your friends and family are not receiving emails sent from your Fundraising Centre, it is because they have opted out of receiving emails from the Canadian Cancer Society or Relay For Life. Consider sending the email from your own email client from within your Fundraising Centre instead.
No. Your privacy is important to the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) and therefore, staff and volunteers cannot view or access your online information. Your information is confidential and is only accessible by entering your username and password, to which CCS does not have access.
We are excited to inform you that participants may now deposit their Relay donations directly at the selected banking centre for their Relay site.
In-person/offline donations (donations not paid online) will be officially counted as part of your fundraising when the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) has received your donation forms and proof of deposit.
You can download customized donation forms from your Relay For Life site page.
Cash and cheque donations must be deposited at a CCS approved banking centre. Details on which banking centre to use for your Relay site, as well as instructions on what to do with your donations and forms, are outlined on the forms you will download from your Relay site page.
Participants who choose to register offline must submit their completed Participant Form to the Gift Processing Department for their donations to be added to their fundraising totals and their team’s if applicable.
Always ensure that the total deposited is equal to the total donation amounts listed on your donation forms. After depositing your donations, DO NOT leave your form(s) at the banking centre. Please make copies of your forms and proof of deposit (where applicable) for your records and mail them to:
ATTN: Gift Processing Department
Canadian Cancer Society
55 St Clair Avenue West, Suite 500
Toronto, ON
M4V 2Y7
Do not mail cash.
NOTE: Remember, your forms and proof of deposit are needed for tax receipting for your donors, and for the Rewards program, if opted in. DO NOT leave your forms at the bank and please make copies of your forms for your records before mailing them.
If you are unable to visit a banking location, you can mail your completed donation form(s) and donations (cheques only, do not send cash in the mail) to the address above.
Processing times vary, but please allow a minimum of 3 weeks from receipt of the form at CCS, to offline fundraising being reflected in your totals online.
Credit card donations can be processed online or by calling Donor Care at 1-888-939-3333. Please ensure that you are registered online before calling Donor Care to process a credit card donation.
No, banking locations do not process credit card donations.
Online donations will be reflected automatically once a donation is complete.
Offline donations made through a Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) approved banking centre are processed once the donation forms and proof of deposit are received by CCS and can take up to 3 weeks. You must retain your form(s) and proof of deposit from the banking centre and mail them to:
ATTN: Gift Processing Department
Canadian Cancer Society
55 St Clair Avenue West, Suite 500
Toronto, ON
M4V 2Y7
Alternatively, you can scan your forms to connect@cancer.ca
Do not mail cash.
Absolutely. Donate online or at a Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) approved banking centre across Canada. To donate at a CCS approved banking location, record your name, address, and donation amount on a donation form. The banking centre will accept your donation and a teller will either stamp the form or provide you with a deposit receipt, then return it to you (note: banks do not accept donations by credit card). To get a tax receipt, mail the completed donation form and proof of deposit to:
ATTN: Gift Processing Department
Canadian Cancer Society
55 St Clair Avenue West, Suite 500
Toronto, ON
M4V 2Y7
Do not mail cash.
Yes. For more information on corporate donations and to find our corporate matching form, please visit our Corporate Engagement page.
Benevity is a corporate social responsibility and employee engagement software that provides employees with a platform to donate to causes they care about, such as Relay For Life.
Please use the Benevity instructions to donate to Relay For Life. You can select the amount of information that you would like shared with the Canadian Cancer Society. If you do not share this information, your donation will remain anonymous.
IMPORTANT: Donations made through Benevity will not be designated to a specific participant’s fundraising page on the website.
Visit our Fundraising Awards page for everything you need to know!
Award winners will be notified and presented with their awards during the closing ceremonies at their local event on Saturday, June 10, 2023. Award winners will also be posted on the Relay website after the event.
The deadline to qualify for Fundraising Awards is 10:00 p.m. PST on Friday, June 9, 2023.
*For offline funds to be counted towards these fundraising awards, the funds must be showing online by the deadline above.
Donation forms, bank stamped or with deposit receipts can be sent to the Canadian Cancer Society via email to connect@cancer.ca or mailed to the address below. Processing times vary, but please allow a minimum of 3 weeks from receipt of the form at CCS, to offline fundraising being reflected in your totals online.
ATTN: Gift Processing Department
Canadian Cancer Society
55 St Clair Avenue West, Suite 500
Toronto, ON M4V 2Y7
Please do not mail cash.
Please reach out to your local Relay For Life Volunteer committee or email relay@cancer.ca.
Please allow a minimum of 3 weeks after CCS receives your offline forms before you see it on your online fundraising. Any donations received after June 10 will be completed by October 2023 at the latest.
All participants in Relay For Life who individually raise $150 or more ($60 for youth below the age of 18) are eligible for the Fundraising Rewards program. See the Fundraising Rewards program for details on the levels and prizes.
*Participants must be opted in to receive Fundraising Rewards and must raise the minimum amounts by 10:00 p.m. PST on June 10, 2023, to qualify. Product available while supplies last. Participants will automatically be opted in to receive zero cost rewards.
Every registered participants who fundraises, opts in for Rewards and reaches the fundraising levels of $150, $300, $1,000 and $2,500 will receive the rewards at each level they qualify for if their funds are in by the deadline. Awards are given to only the top fundraising team in each team category and top 3 individual fundraisers at each site by the deadline.
We ask participants at registration if they want to receive a reward based on achieving the fundraising goals of $150, $300, $1000 and $2500. This was a mandatory question. We will use the information from the registration completion to issue rewards and participants will receive an email as they reach each milestone to notify them. All offline participants will receive rewards they qualify for.
Participants who raise at least $150 are required to have all fundraising dollars and forms received by the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) by June 10, 2023, to qualify for the Fundraising Rewards program.
Donation forms, either bank stamped dated up to Saturday, June 10, 2023, or with applicable deposit receipt dated up to June 10, 2023, must arrive at CCS no later than two weeks after Relay (by June 24, 2023) to be counted towards the rewards program. This is to account for the time needed to enter offline donations into participants’ Fundraising Centres. Donation forms, either bank stamped or with applicable deposit receipt, can be received via mail or scanned to connect@cancer.ca.
ATTN: Gift Processing Department
Canadian Cancer Society
55 St Clair Avenue West, Suite 500
Toronto, ON M4V 2Y7
or scanned to connect@cancer.ca
Please do not mail cash.
No. The Fundraising Reward level reached individually cannot be transferred to another participant.
No. Team fundraising totals are NOT eligible for Fundraising Rewards, and they do not count towards an individual’s fundraising total.
All donations for rewards must be entered by 10:00 p.m. PST on June 10, 2023.
*For offline funds to be counted towards these fundraising awards, the funds must be showing online by the deadline above.
Donation forms, bank stamped or with deposit receipts can be sent to the Canadian Cancer Society via email to connect@cancer.ca or mailed to the address below. Processing times vary, but please allow a minimum of 3 weeks from receipt of the form at CCS, to offline fundraising being reflected in your totals online.
ATTN: Gift Processing Department
Canadian Cancer Society
55 St Clair Avenue West, Suite 500
Toronto, ON M4V 2Y7
The participant can contact Donor Care at connect@cancer.ca or phone 1-888-939-3333 and advise of the change, but only if the reward has not been shipped.
The participant must contact Donor Care at connect@cancer.ca or phone 1-888-939-3333, so that they can make the update.
Please contact our Relay For Life team at relay@cancer.ca.
Participants who qualify for a Relay For Life t-shirt (Adults who raise $150 and Youth who raise $60 and are opted in to receive rewards) will receive your t-shirt from your local Relay For Life volunteer committee. Funds must be raised by June 10, 2023. Donation forms, banked stamped or with donation receipt can be brought to your local event to count towards your fundraising total to qualify for the t-shirt reward.
For participants who qualify for the $1000 reward of a Relay for Life gift and reach the fundraising milestone by May 12, the reward will arrive by Relay Day. Rewards for all other participants will be shipped after the event day. Depending on the location, it may take 3-6 weeks to arrive from the time the Fulfillment Centre receives the notification that a participant qualifies for a reward.
The participant should contact Donor Care at connect@cancer.ca or phone 1-888-939-3333 to arrange a new shipment.
All offline donations will be completed by October 2023.
If you donate online to a team, yourself, or another participant, you will receive an electronic tax receipt within 24 hours. The Canadian Cancer Society will begin issuing tax receipts for offline donations following Relay For Life. They will be distributed by the end of October of the event year.
Please contact Donor Care at connect@cancer.ca or phone 1-888-939-3333.
Please click here for more information on how to become a Relay For Life volunteer.
No, you do not require previous volunteer experience. However, it is recommended that people in leadership roles are familiar with Relay For Life.
Each volunteer role has differing time requirements based on the role and responsibilities. Committee roles have a longer time commitment and may vary. Details are provided in the role description.
Yes. If you need confirmation of volunteer hours, please reach out to volunteer@cancer.ca after the event.
Volunteers must be 14 years and older to volunteer for the Canadian Cancer Society. There are some positions with further age restrictions (19 or over) and this will be made clear in the position description. If you are under the age of 18, please obtain parental or legal guardian consent before completing the online application. Your parent or guardian must be present to electronically consent to the terms and conditions.
Click here to recover your username or password. Don’t create a second profile.
Thank you for your interest in Relay For Life! Our Donor Care team can answer your questions. Please contact them via email at connect@cancer.ca or by calling 1-888-939-3333.
