Young team captain plans fundraiser

Relay For Life, the event that started in 1985 with a single man, has grown to being the single largest movement to help in the fight against cancer.
In the Bastrop County area, there are several Relay teams who routinely set records with their fundraising amounts. But there is one team captained by a young man that will capture people’s hearts.

Anthony Harris, a 13-year-old seventh grader at Bastrop Middle School, is on his second year of leading Team Blow Out Cancer, a team he started after his mother, Kelley, was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Anthony’s positive attitude is striking for someone so young, but he says when he found out about his mom’s cancer, he stayed upbeat.
“I knew everything was going to be alright,” he said.
Kelley says she knew before she got the formal diagnosis that she had breast cancer. But she also knew that her faith would get her, and her family, through it.
Anthony’s first year as captain of the team saw them raising more than $1,000 through the ‘purple toilet,’ – basically offering people the opportunity to put a large purple toilet in someone else’s front yard for a fee.
And this year the team is doing something similar with a large purple, birthday cake. But Anthony wanted to figure out a way for the team to raise even more money. He has set a goal of $1,500.
During that time the family volunteered to work the annual Pedal Thru the Pines fundraiser for the Family Crisis Center and that’s where Anthony’s father, Mitchell, got an idea.
Since Anthony loves to ride his bicycle, it was a natural fit to partner that love with a fundraiser and the Blowout Ride was born.
Slated for Saturday, April 3, the Blowout Ride is a 23-mile course that runs through both state parks. Registration is $25 before March 27 and $35 afterwards. Riders will get a T-shirt and goodie bag. Everyone is being asked to meet at 8:30 a.m. at the pool area at Bastrop State Park.
Team Blow Out Cancer consists of Anthony, his brother Michael, 15, Bill Stanberry, Pastor Susan Fox and Petra Webb. The seventh-grader explains why Relay For Life is important in the fight against cancer.
“Relay For Life has a lot of stuff that helps with cancer patients,” he said, giving examples of things that Relay funds pay for, including Hope Lodge and Road to Recovery, two programs that help people fighting cancer with lodging and transportation.
“Relay For Life makes people feel honored and happy that so many people care,” he said. “It motivates them.”
Anthony’s mother Kelley is doing well, but Anthony always knew she would.
“She’s a fighter,” he said, adding that his philosophy on life is similar to hers.
“Stay on the happy side,” he said.