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2014 Relay for Life of Logan County

Local teens helping others
Crawford leads peers into Relay for Life

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[July 29, 2014]  LINCOLN - At a time when people lament about the behavior of teenagers, there are some notable exceptions. Trenton Crawford is one such example. At 17, he has been part of the Logan County Relay for Life for the past four years even acting as co-chair one year.

Of  his participation, Crawford says, “I first became involved with the Relay for Life after my 8th grade year, when my former English teacher, Michelle Dahn (former RFL Logan County Co-Chair) asked me if I would be interested in helping put on a mini relay at LJHS and raising money for the American Cancer Society. It was an emotional event, and I was proud that I got to play a part in my school raising over $1,000 from the event.” He goes on to say, “that year, I got my peers who were in Builders Club to do it, and we had a phenomenal time staying up at the event all night, and for the first time, I got to experience what Relay was all about--a community of strong people of all ages, who want to put up a fight against cancer.”
 


After that first year, Crawford continued to be a part of the Relay, becoming even more involved as a co-chair and team leader who encouraged other teens involved. Crawford said, “The following years in high school, I gradually got more and more of my peers involved, and they began to love relay just as much as I did. Our biggest fundraisers are our car washes over the summer, in which we all gather on weekends to wash cars for donations to our team's fundraising goal.”

Crawford says he has continued to be involved because, “After seeing how passionate other people my age could be for such an amazing cause, I realized that I had the ability to change the way adults and those in older generations viewed teens and youth by helping my peers get involved with important events, not only through the Relay for Life, but by organizing opportunities for them to help their community in some way that wasn't offered before.”

Maritta Robinson, who co-chaired with Trenton in the past says, “My husband Jeff and I have spent many hours working with Trenton especially during Relay for life 2012-2013 when we served as chairs. Trenton has a very compassionate heart and is willing to go and do whatever needs to be done to make our relays a huge success.”

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She also said, “During the times we have served together, Trenton, Bailey (Goodman), and I have laughed times [because] we would be so tired and it would just hit us and then there were times we just held on together and cried tears of sadness when we would lose someone who was so special and close to us. The Relay is not just a bunch of people just throwing things together. We all become like family and that is what Trenton is to us.”

Robinson says she “looks forward to see “how God uses him in the future because he has a pure heart for Him and is willing to do whatever work he is sent to do. Trenton is a huge asset to Relay for Life and loves what it is all about. Saving lives, one person at a time.”

Trenton and his team, along with 21 other teams will again be working hard at this year’s Relay for Life held on July 25th and 26th. Hopefully, the next generation of millenials will continue to carry on this tradition of selfless service.

[By ANGELA REINERS]

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