The Bakersfield College Delano Campus Relay for Life team participated in Delano’s annual cancer fundraising event on April 8. The team dressed in Renegade gear as they participated in the city’s fundraiser. La-Reina Villanueva, president of the BC Delano relay team, said that while their goal was to fundraise as much as possible, they also wanted to have a good time.

“As of right now, our goal is just to represent BC and what we have to offer and also have fun,” she stated.

Villanueva mentioned that this was her first year as serving as the president of the team and was beyond happy to participate. She stated that she was asked for help in leading the team because of her work and contributions to the Delano Blessing Project.

“Actually what happened is I am part of the Blessing Project, I kind of built that foundation,” said Villanueva. “My motto in life is ‘inspire and be inspired,’ so my thing was I wanted to inspire people to do good to others and this is one of them.” Villanueva went on to explain what the project is. “It basically caters to community service and helping out each other and along the way you’re helping out others but you’re also helping yourself.”

The team stated to have been fundraising since the prior month to be ready for the official event on April 8.

“I was actually asked if I wanted to be in charge of [the relay team] at the end of March so it’s kind of been crazy,” said Villanueva. She stated that they had a few weeks to prepare, but they did what they could to make the best out of it. “We only fundraised like two times at the Delano campus, and honestly it wasn’t a great turn out, but with perseverance and hard work and dedication I think it turned out very well with the short timing.”

Villanueva and her team set up a booth adorned with BC gear and information about the college as they fundraised and participated in the events activities. To fundraise, the team sold popcorn, brownies, and lumpia, a popular Filipino dish, which were all donated by members of the team. “One of the girls made the brownies, and we are making lumpia, too,” said Villanueva. At the end of the event, all of the team’s fundraising went to the American Cancer Society. The team was handing out cotton candy and handmade tags with motivational quotes to the cancer survivors who attended the event. The survivors were easily recognized as they wore purple shirts.

Along with the fundraising, the team also provided members of the community with information about BC. “We are talking to people about what is offered at BC. Like the types of clubs like SGA, and the classes and types of majors,” said Villanueva while pointing at their booth filled with informational brochures from the college.

Villanueva mentioned that BC president Sonya Christian had stopped by at the beginning of the event to show some support.

“Sonya Christian was here and took some pictures of the team.” She also mentioned how the fundraiser functioned smoothly because of their team work, as they alternated on duties and responsibilities.“Honestly, this wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for them,” Villanueva said while pointing at her team members. “We are very thankful for the support from all the student helpers. They are my friends that I also consider my family.”