Thank you for your interest in Relay For Life! We've tried to answer any questions you may have, but if we've missed something, please contact us so we can help you.
We thank all our Relay For Life supporters for their commitment and passion to Relay and the cancer cause. Due to the ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges facing large and in-person gatherings, the Canadian Cancer Society has made the decision to hold Relay For Life 2021 events virtually.
At the Canadian Cancer Society, we are committed to honouring physical distancing and protecting the well-being and safety of people living with cancer, event participants, our donors, volunteers and staff. As we are unable to determine when it will be safe to gather in-person again, hosting Relay For Life virtually is the safest decision for our supporters nationwide.
This year there are new and innovative ways for you to Relay For Life from the comfort of your home. CCS is committed to ensuring a fun and safe event experience for everyone as we move through unprecedented change and navigate this new opportunity.
Our exciting virtual experience will include all the things you love about Relay with inspirational opening ceremonies featuring impactful stories from Participants of Hope (cancer survivors), remarks from CCS, a luminary ceremony and more. Stay tuned for more information!
The Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life brings together communities, united by the same goal of creating a world where no Canadian fears cancer. These events are also an opportunity to celebrate those who live and have lived in the face of cancer and those moving past cancer.
Relay is a global movement to end cancer which is active in 29 countries and 6,000 communities worldwide, whereby participants commit to raising funds for work against all types of cancer.
Due to the ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges facing large and in-person gatherings, the Canadian Cancer Society has made the decision to hold Relay For Life 2021 events virtually, on Saturday, June 12, 2021.
This year there are new and innovative ways for you to Relay For Life from the comfort of your home. CCS is committed to ensuring a fun and safe event experience for everyone as we move through unprecedented change and navigate this new opportunity.
Our exciting virtual experience will include all the things you love about Relay with inspirational opening ceremonies featuring impactful stories from cancer survivors, remarks from CCS, a luminary ceremony and more. Stay tuned for more information!
The virtual event takes place on Saturday, June 12, 2021 at 8pm-9pm EST.
Due to the ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges facing large and in-person gatherings, the Canadian Cancer Society has made the decision to hold Relay For Life 2021 events virtually.
At the Canadian Cancer Society, we are committed to honouring physical distancing and protecting the well-being and safety of people living with cancer, event participants, our donors, volunteers and staff. As we are unable to determine when it will be safe to gather in-person again, hosting Relay For Life virtually is the safest decision for our supporters nationwide.
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 to keep costs down, which directs more money to fund ground-breaking cancer research, compassionate support services, trusted cancer information and advocacy on behalf of all Canadians.
Relay For Life will take place virtually on Saturday, June 12, 2021. This year there are new and innovative ways for you to participate in Relay For Life from the comfort of your home. At CCS, we are committed to ensuring a fun and safe event experience for everyone as we move through unprecedented change and navigate this new opportunity.
Our exciting virtual experience will include all the things you love about Relay with inspirational opening ceremonies featuring impactful stories from Participants of Hope, remarks from CCS, a mission-centric moment hosted by a CCS Researcher, a luminary ceremony, performances and much more!
Watch this space for exciting details about our new way of gathering. Please visit relayforlife.ca to find a Relay site near you or join Relay Your Way — a Relay site for everyone, no matter where you live.
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 June 12, 2021, 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 fundraising activities that can be done in a virtual context!
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 our Relay For Life events are supporting ground-breaking research into more than 100 types of cancer, 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 1-888-939-3333 or email relay@cancer.ca.
The Canadian Cancer Society in conjunction with Relay For Life does 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 for events like Relay For Life.
If you are approached by a canvasser who states that he or she is 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.
If you do not see your community listed, join Relay Your Way — a Relay site for everyone, no matter where you live. Register, fundraise and walk in your community on Saturday, June 12, 2021.
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 still be eligible for tax receipts, fundraising tools and fundraising rewards!
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
This year, we’ve removed our registration fees and are excited to offer two new ways to register! Choose to fundraise a minimum of $150 (or $60 as a Youth participant) or provide our 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.
Yes, you can register offline by downloading a participant form from your Relay site page. 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
(do not mail cash)
Participants that choose to register offline must submit their completed Participant Form to Gift Processing Department in order for their donations to be added to their fundraising totals as well as their team’s, if applicable.
A fast and easy way to register a team is by registering online. Choose your Relay community from our homepage drop down menu or by selecting "Find a Relay For Life Event" in the top navigation. Once you have selected your Relay community, click on the Sign-Up button. From here you will be able to select the ‘Start a New Team' option and proceed with the registration process.
Choose your Relay community from our homepage drop down menu or by selecting "Find a Relay For Life Event" in the top navigation. 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 that can be named the same as your old team. If you have any questions or difficulties registering your team, please contact us by 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).
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, 2021. 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. Why did we change the term survivor to Participant of Hope? 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 face mask. General participants will receive a black face mask whereas Participants of Hope will receive a yellow face mask. Both masks will be bilingual. Please note, the yellow masks will be offered in lieu of the yellow t-shirts for Participants of Hope in 2021.
We have made this decision to amplify 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.
This year we are excited to introduce a virtual Lap of Hope experience for our Participants of Hope at Relay For Life on June 12. More details will be shared soon.
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.
Whether you Relay for a parent, child, grandparent, or friend, luminaries are a powerful symbol that our loved ones are always in our hearts. Luminaries provide light and inspiration and symbolize hope to our participants at Relay For Life.
At in person Relay For Life events, 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 honour people living with cancer, celebrate cancer survivors, remember those we’ve lost to cancer and honour individuals who carry a genetic risk for the disease. Participants and supporters often personalize their luminaries with meaningful messages and pictures. This year, we invite Relay participants and donors to create a digital luminary.
This year, we invite Relay supporters to create a digital luminary to celebrate, honour or remember someone you’ve lost to cancer. Print or share this virtual badge on social media — together, we can show that people affected by cancer are never alone.
Participants will be able to create a digital luminary in their Fundraising Centres. Supporters or donors will have the possibility to create a digital luminary and share it on their social media after their donation is completed.
When creating your luminary, you will be able to choose from the following options to personalize it, as well as dedicate your digital luminary by including someone’s name:
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, honour and remember 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. Although Relay For Life will be hosted virtually in 2021, we are committed to incorporate a virtual Luminary Ceremony experience for our participants on June 12. At CCS, we have been hard at work brainstorming ways to capture this emotional and powerful ceremony in a virtual environment. More details will be shared soon.
This Relay season, we invite all Relay participants to print or share your digital luminary on social media. Together, our digital luminaries will honour our loved ones and show others affected by cancer that they are not alone. Here is how you can create yours:
Relay Your Way is a Relay site for everyone, no matter where you live.
Given the challenges CCS has faced due to the pandemic, we aren’t able to support the same number of Relay sites as years past. This won’t affect your experience at Relay —our virtual format will provide everyone with the same exciting experience, no matter where you live. Visit relayforlife.ca to sign up for our virtual event on June 12. Simply search for the closest Relay site to you and join an event page to get started. Or join Relay Your Way - a Relay site for everyone, no matter where you live.
Your Fundraising Centre contains customizable tools for emailing friends and family, tracking online donations, team status, and much, much more.
It is an online webpage that highlights an individual participant and their fundraising efforts. Participants can customize content and images on their Personal Fundraising page from the Fundraising Centre.
Over the past six months, we have been working hard to consolidate our fundraising software to eliminate duplication so that we can redirect the funds we are saving to our mission.
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 the consolidation. 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 fundraising centre to your personal email address and forwarding the message from there.
No. Your privacy is important to CCS and therefore staff and volunteers cannot view or access your online information. Your information is confidential and is only accessible by entering your personal 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.
If you have registered online, we encourage you to download the donation forms from your Fundraising Center. They will be pre-populated with your site information.
If you have registered offline, 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. Detail 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.
Participant that choose to register offline must submit their completed Participant Form to the Gift Processing Department for their donations be added to their fundraising totals as well as 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 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 your proof of deposit are needed for tax receipting for your donors and if opted in to the Rewards program. DO NOT leave your forms at the bank and please make copies of your forms for your records before mailing them.
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 centres do not process credit card donations.
In-person/offline donations (donations not paid online) will be officially counted as part of your fundraising when your donation forms and proof of deposit have been received by the Canadian Cancer Society. Please bring cash and cheque donations to a CCS approved banking centre for deposit. Please mail your completed form(s) 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)
DO NOT leave your form(s) at the banking centre, and please make copies of your forms for your records.
If you are unable to visit a banking centre, you can mail your completed donation form(s) and donations (cheques only, do not send cash in the mail) to:
ATTN: Gift Processing Department
Canadian Cancer Society
55 St Clair Avenue West, Suite 500
Toronto, ON
M4V 2Y7
(do not mail cash)
Online donations will be reflected automatically once a donation is made and completed.
Offline donations will be entered as received leading up to Relay and weekly starting after Relay. Offline donations made through a CCS approved banking centre are processed once the donation forms and proof of deposit are received by the Canadian Cancer Society. Therefore, you must retain your form(s) and proof of deposit from the banking centre and mail to:
ATTN: Gift Processing Department
Canadian Cancer Society
55 St Clair Avenue West, Suite 500
Toronto, ON
M4V 2Y7
(do not mail cash)
Due to the number of participants partaking in Relay For Life across the country, this process could take until the end of October 2021 to complete, depending on when forms are submitted.
Absolutely. Donate online or at a CCS approved banking centre across Canada. To donate at a CCS approved banking centre, 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 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 CCS. If you do not share this information, your donation will remain anonymous.
IMPORTANT: This year donations will not be designated to a specific participant’s fundraising page on the website.
The Relay Determination Awards are presented to the top Adult and Youth individual fundraisers at each Relay location.
The Corporate Spirit Award is presented to the top fundraising corporate team at each Relay location.
The Friends and Family Team Challenge Award is presented to the top fundraising Friends and Family Team at each Relay location.
The deadline to qualify for Fundraising Awards is 11:59pm local time on Thursday, June 10, 2021. All online fundraising must be submitted by this deadline.
Offline fundraising (completed donation forms, bank stamped and/or deposit receipt where applicable) must arrive to CCS no later than Friday, May 28, 2021 to be counted towards awards.
All winners will be awarded with a frame that will be mailed to them after Relay For Life (June 12, 2021).
*When registering your team, you will be asked to choose Corporate or Friends and Family as a Team Type.
Award Winners will be notified in advance by a CCS volunteer or staff member and announced on each Relay Community’s local Facebook page on June 12 and posted on the Relay website!
The deadline to qualify your online fundraising for Fundraising Awards is 11:59pm local time on Thursday, June 10, 2021.
For offline fundraising to be counted towards awards, completed donation forms and proof of depositmust arrive to CCS, no later than Friday, May 28, 2021. This is to account for the time needed to enter offline donations into participants fundraising centers. Donation forms, bank stamped or with deposit receipts can be received via mail to:
ATTN: Gift Processing Department
Canadian Cancer Society
55 St Clair Avenue West, Suite 500
Toronto, ON M4V 2Y7
(do not mail cash)
or scanned to connect@cancer.ca
When you are notified that you are the recipient of a Fundraising Award, you will be asked to confirm your shipping address. You will have the option to update it at that time if necessary.
Please contact Donor Care at connect@cancer.ca or phone 1-888-939-3333. Please have your confirmation email handy and our representatives will be happy to assist you.
Winning participants should receive their award by mail within three (3) weeks following event day.
The participant should contact CCS at relay@cancer.ca to arrange a new shipment.
All offline donations received by May 28 will be completed by June 10. Any received after June 10 will be completed by October 2021 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 11:59 p.m. PST on June 12, 2021 to qualify. Product available while supplies last. Participants will automatically be opted in to receive zero cost rewards.
We asked participants at registration if they wanted to receive the reward based on achieving the goal 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 Canadian Cancer Society by June 12, 2021 to qualify for the Fundraising Rewards program.
Donation forms, either bank stamped dated up to Saturday, June 12, 2021 or with applicable deposit receipt dated up to June 12, 2021 must arrive at CCS no later than two weeks after Relay (by June 25, 2021) 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.
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 submitted by midnight June 12, 2021.
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 correct the record.
Please contact Donor Care at connect@cancer.ca or phone 1-888-939-3333. Please have your confirmation email handy and our representatives will be happy to assist you.
For participants who reach the fundraising milestone by April 30, the reward will arrive by Relay day. Rewards for all other participants will be shipped after event day and depending on the location, 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 2021.
If you donate online to a team, to yourself or another participant, you will receive an electronic tax receipt within 24hrs. 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 role and volunteer responsibilities. Committee roles have a longer time commitment and may vary. This will be described in the role description.
Yes, of course! After the event, you will be able to download a statement outlining your volunteer hours through the website.
Here’s how:
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 access your volunteer profile and enter your username and password. Be sure to update your contact information so we can contact you.
If you completed a paper (offline) volunteer form in the past, please contact volunteer@cancer.ca.
If you filled out an online application last year, you do not need to do it again this year. Simply log into your volunteer profile with the username and password you created. If you do not know what your login and password is, please contact volunteer@cancer.ca.
Click here to recover your username or password. Please refrain from creating 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 or by calling 1-888-939-3333.
