Mother and daughter Laura and Tina Hunt at the Relay for Life. Pictures: ORLANDO CHIODO
Shellharbour Relay For Life came back bigger and better in its second year, with hundreds of people, lots of activities and an unbreakable community spirit.
The event, held at Albion Park Showground at the weekend, attracted 570 participants, who walked and ran laps of the track over 24 hours to celebrate, remember and fight against cancer.
Community relations co-ordinator Terry Deegan said the mood was "fantastic", as hundreds of families enjoyed games, stalls, entertainment and activities.
"It was definitely bigger than our first year, and that's what we were hoping for," he said.
"Everyone was really actively involved and the atmosphere was great because there was so much going on the whole time."
He said two inspiring participants walked for the whole 24 hours of the relay, making for an uplifting end to the event.
"There were plenty of people there to cheer them on at the end and they, along with our ambassadors, led the last lap to close the event. It was a pretty cool feeling," he said
The relay raises funds for cancer patients, carers, families and supporters in the Shellharbour City community and for the work of the Cancer Council NSW.
Mr Deegan said the organisers were hoping to top last year's fund-raising total of $79,000.
"We're still waiting for all the donations to come in, but in terms of participants and people registered, we have increased since 2012 - so it's looking good at this stage," he said.