Furry Friends Against Cancer: The 12th Annual Bark for Life Brings Torrance Together By Writer and Contributor Emily McGinn
People and pets gathered together in Columbia Park in Torrance on Nov. 3 to support the fight against cancer.
This was the 12th annual Bark for Life of Torrance event, an offshoot of Relay for Life, a charity walk affiliated with the American Cancer Society. The Relay for Life event in Torrance took place in May. The Bark for Life event, which kicks off their 2025 season, is a way for the organization to get dogs involved.
Kristi Banks has been involved in the event lead team for Relay for Life events in the area for the past 22 years.
Banks said that initially the idea for Bark for Life stemmed from the fact that people could not bring their dogs to the main Relay for Life event.
“[We started it] to fulfill [the desire] that people wanted their canine companions to be involved in the event,” Banks said.
The event offered entertainment, with live demonstrations from event sponsor Zoom Room, a dog training and play area. Food trucks and vendors were also on site.
Pets and their owners enjoyed various canine-centered games, a DJ, a peanut butter-eating contest and raffles. Since Halloween just passed, pets could also participate in a costume contest.
Ultimately, the fun and games all loop back to the central goal of all Relay for Life events: to raise money to fight cancer, and to celebrate cancer survivors and honor those lost to cancer.
“The top of the list is that we celebrate the survivors,” Banks said. “From the day they're diagnosed, they're survivors, whether they're [actively] going through treatment or they've gone through treatment. We celebrate them at all of our events. We want to recognize them.”
Banks said that in the 22 years that she has been involved with the organization, they have raised more than four and a half million dollars.
For Banks, the fight is personal. She originally joined the Relay for Life movement after her grandmother passed away in 2003 from lung cancer that metastasized to her brain. Now a cancer survivor herself, Banks continues to find the value in recognizing those affected by cancer.
“It's a family,” Banks said. “It's a true community, but we need more people to know about us and to want to be involved. We want to celebrate more survivors. That's our our end goal, and to let them know what services the American Cancer Society offers, because it's an amazing organization and offers a ton of services that people don't know about.”
You can follow the Relay for Life of Torrance on Facebook to get involved and stay up to date on events.
Bio:
Emily McGinn is a journalist based in the Los Angeles area. She enjoys reporting on and writing about a variety of topics from lifestyle to news, especially in her areas of specialty, environmental science and political science.
