logo
Weather page
GET THE APP
ePaper
google_play
app_store
  • Login
  • E-Edition
    • Marketplace
  • News
  • Sports
  • Obituaries
  • Opinion
  • Classifieds
    • All Listings
    • Jobs
    • Place an Ad
  • SPECIAL SECTIONS
  • PHOTO GALLERY
  • CONTESTS
  • LIFESTYLE/ENTERTAINMENT
  • GAMES
  • CATTARAUGUS COUNTY SOURCE
    • NEWS
      • LOCAL
      • STATE
      • NATION
    • SPORTS
      • LOCAL
      • NATIONAL
    • OBITUARIES
    • OPINION
      • NEWS
        • LOCAL
        • STATE
        • NATION
      • SPORTS
        • LOCAL
        • NATIONAL
      • OBITUARIES
      • OPINION
    logo
    • Classifieds
      • Place an Ad
      • All Listings
      • Jobs
    • E-Edition
      • Marketplace
    • Subscribe
    • Login
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • All Listings
        • Jobs
      • E-Edition
        • Marketplace
      • Subscribe
      • Login
    Titus Creek culvert project to close Broad St.
    Breaking News
    Titus Creek culvert project to close Broad St.
    Kellen Quigley 
    July 8, 2025
    SALAMANCA — A section of Broad Street in the city of Salamanca is to close between Hancock and Swan streets for the state Department of Transportation...
    {"daily-headlines-newsletter":"Daily Headlines", "newsletters":"Newsletters", "to-print":"To Print", "website":"Website"}
    Home Health
    Gates Chili School District holds Relay for Life event
    Health
    Alex Keown  
    July 17, 2017

    Gates Chili School District holds Relay for Life event

    District participants raised $21,000 for cancer research

    During a survivor’s lap at a Relay for Life event in the Gates Chili School District, many students were stunned to see Paula LaManna, the coordinator of volunteers and service learning, take to the track wearing her survivor T-shirt.

    Although many of the students had a personal connection to cancer, LaManna’s participation in the survivor’s lap was proof of the efficacy of the cancer research they were raising money to support.

    LaManna was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer in 2013. Post-treatment, she has beaten back the dreaded illness and is now doing what she can to help others facing their own battles. LaManna now serves as the Relay for Life adviser in the school district and helps raise money for cancer research.

    This year, LaManna and her students raised a whopping $21,000 for research, which is done locally at the University of Rochester.

    “We know we live in a generous community, but it was surprising to see how much we had at the end of the event,” she says. “We went into it with only $12,000 raised, but the rest of it came in that night, which was pleasantly surprising.”

    Gates Chili is indeed generous when it comes to giving to the Relay for Life event. During the past several years the community has raised more than $225,000 for cancer research, LaManna says.

    One reason behind the community’s generosity lies in how cancer touches the lives of so many people, regardless of race, sex, age and income levels. Because cancer in all its forms becomes more and more common, LaManna says it’s easier to get people to participate in the Relay for Life.

    During the past several years of holding a Relay for Life event, Gates Chili School District participants have raised over $225,000 for cancer research.

    And she’s not the only cancer survivor in the group of 24 students she advises. One student is a survivor of childhood cancer, she says. There are also numerous students within the group who have relatives with cancer or have lost someone to cancer, including Jordan Johnson, whose mother was taken by a brain tumor.

    “It was so great to see Jordan grow through this experience and take on leadership after the loss of his own mother,” LaManna says.

    Another inspiring story the Gates Chili students saw comes from a 5-year-old cancer patient from the community who joined LaManna on the survivor’s walk. The boy, who has struggled with cancer most of his short life, was carried on the lap because his legs were too weak to make the walk.

    LaManna says seeing a cancer survivor that young was not only inspiring, but also heart-wrenching as the disease does not spare the young and innocent.

    “Many of us were close to crying watching him take his lap,” she says. “Seeing him out there, that’s reason for many of us to keep doing it.”

    Those stories of survival, as well as stories of loss, resonate with and inspire many students who took part in the relay, including 16-year-old junior Kevonna Buchanan. The story of Jordan’s loss, as well as the cancer stories friends shared, gave Kevonna the strength to help the relay team raise the funds for cancer research.

    “My grandmother is a breast cancer survivor,” Kevonna says. “Tragically, almost everyone has experienced a friend or loved one being diagnosed with cancer, and even worse, maybe had lost someone due to the horrid disease. This alone fueled many of us to join the Gates Chili Relay Committee.”

    As Buchanan became more and more involved with the relay team, she quickly realized that weekly participation would be “better use” of her time. This was her first year on the relay team and she said it certainly wouldn’t be her last. Not only will she participate during her senior year at Gates Chili, she intends to keep on with the effort in college as well. Her role in supporting Relay for Life keeps her involved with the Gates Chili community, as well as the broader community of cancer patients and their families.

    “Honestly, who doesn’t want to defeat cancer once and for all?” she says.

    Tags:

    cancer community gates chili relay committee life event medicine oncology paula lamanna relay sport student
    {"website":"Website"}

    Salamanca Press

    Local & Social
    Latest news for you
    Kane’s Chamberlain wins at Pennhills
    Local Sports, Sports
    Kane’s Chamberlain wins at Pennhills
    By CONNOR JACKSON Sports Editor 
    July 15, 2025
    BRADFORD, Pa. — The second leg of the 56th Penn-York season was played at the Pennhills Club Monday from the championship tees. Hot weather and slick ...
    Read More...
    {"daily-headlines-newsletter":"Daily Headlines", "newsletters":"Newsletters", "to-print":"To Print", "website":"Website"}
    Local Sports, Sports
    Salamanca girls basketball practices in offseason
    Connor Jackson 
    July 15, 2025
    Read More...
    {"sports-newsletter":"Sports", "to-print":"To Print", "website":"Website"}
    Local Sports, Sports
    Ferguson hits four homers in fastpitch softball action
    By CONNOR JACKSON Sports Editor 
    July 15, 2025
    FRANKLINVILLE — In Sunday's Dave Gaeta Memorial Franklinville Fast Pitch Softball league action, the four way tie for the league lead was cut in half ...
    Read More...
    {"sports-newsletter":"Sports", "to-print":"To Print", "website":"Website"}
    Salamanca girls basketball releases 2025-26 league schedule
    Local Sports, Sports
    Salamanca girls basketball releases 2025-26 league schedule
    July 15, 2025
    Read More...
    {"sports-newsletter":"Sports", "to-print":"To Print", "website":"Website"}
    Maxwell Hairston’s speed gives Bills an enticing corner
    Local Sports, Sports
    Maxwell Hairston’s speed gives Bills an enticing corner
    By CONNOR JACKSON Sports Editor 
    July 15, 2025
    ORCHARD PARK — The Buffalo Bills' first-round pick Maxwell Hairston showed his value at the NFL scouting combine, running the fastest time in the 40-y...
    Read More...
    {"sports-newsletter":"Sports", "to-print":"To Print", "website":"Website"}
    Ray, John re-elected as Salamanca school board president, VP
    Ray, John re-elected as Salamanca school board president, VP
    By KELLEN M. QUIGLEY Managing Editor 
    July 15, 2025
    SALAMANCA — The Salamanca Board of Education held its annual reorganizational meeting July 1, re-electing Theresa Ray as president and Kerry John as v...
    Read More...
    {"daily-headlines-newsletter":"Daily Headlines", "newsletters":"Newsletters", "to-print":"To Print", "website":"Website"}
    Cattaraugus County Source
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Cattaraugus County Source 07-10-2025
    Cattaraugus County Source, Special Sections
    Cattaraugus County Source 07-10-2025
    mkeim@oleantimesherald.com 
    July 10, 2025
    Read More...
    {"website":"Website"}
    This Week's Ads
    Current e-Edition
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Already a subscriber? Click the image to view the latest e-edition.
    Don't have a subscription? Click here to see our subscription options.
    Mobile App

    Download Now

    The Salamanca Press mobile app brings you the latest local breaking news, updates, and more. Read the Salamanca Press on your mobile device just as it appears in print.

    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store

    Help Our Community

    Please help local businesses by taking an online survey to help us navigate through these unprecedented times. None of the responses will be shared or used for any other purpose except to better serve our community. The survey is at: www.pulsepoll.com $1,000 is being awarded. Everyone completing the survey will be able to enter a contest to Win as our way of saying, "Thank You" for your time. Thank You!

    Get in touch with The Salamanca Press

    Submit Content
    Submit News Send a Letter to the Editor Place Wedding Announcement
    Advertise
    Place Birth Announcement Place Anniversary Announcement Place Obituary
    Subscribe
    Start a Subscription e-Edition Contact Us
    Illinois Hancock Journal-Pilot Iroquois Times-Republic Journal-Republican The News-Gazette
    Indiana Fountain Co. Neighbor Herald Journal KV Post News Newton Co. Enterprise Rensselaer Republican Review-Republican
    Iowa Atlantic News Telegraph Audubon Advocate-Journal Barr's Post Card News Burlington Hawk Eye Collector's Journal Fayette County Union Ft. Madison Daily Democrat Independence Bulletin-Journal Keokuk Daily Gate City Oelwein Daily Register Vinton Newspapers Waverly Newspapers
    Michigan Iosco County News-Herald Ludington Daily News Oceana's Herald-Journal Oscoda Press White Lake Beacon New York Finger Lakes Times Olean Times Herald Salamanca Press
    Pennsylvania Bradford Era Clearfield Progress Courier Express Free Press Courier Jeffersonian Democrat Leader Vindicator Potter Leader-Enterprise The Wellsboro Gazette
    © Copyright 2025 The Salamanca Press 639 Norton Drive, Olean, NY 14760  | Terms of Use  | Privacy Policy
    Powered by TECNAVIA