Carly Sanchez, nursing major, Mike Hernandez, welding major, and her father John Sanchez, bake cupcakes as a personal fundraiser to contribute to their goal of $1,000 to sponsor their team for the Relay For Life being held at the Cerritos College soccer field June 11 to 12.

For the past month nursing major at Cerritos College Sanchez, has been bringing approximately 200 cupcakes to distribute to the Walmart customers and employees in return for donations.  She is accompanied by her father and boyfriend Hernandez, from Cerritos College.

These donations are contributed to “Marcella’s Buddies,” a team formed by the trio and their select family and friends to help raise money for the Relay For Life of Norwalk, which will be held at Cerritos College soccer field.

More specifically, the team was inspired by Marcella Derthick, event chair for the past two Relay For Life of Norwalk events. She is also the mother of Sanchez’s best friend, and is a cancer survivor.

The team was also inspired to raise money because of Sanchez’s grandmother, who died of lung cancer when Sanchez was eight years old.

Her grandmother, who loved baking, feeding people and trying new things, was their inspiration to bake cupcakes to raise money for their $1,000 goal.

In addition to raising $1,000 for the cause, Sanchez and “Marcella’s Buddies” will be completing the 24-hour relay that starts on June 11 at 9:00 a.m.

The opening lap will be honoring cancer survivors and ends with the final lap at 9:00 a.m., June 12 to honor those who have passed and those who are still fighting.

With all this work being put into the event her father said, “We do it because everyone has been touched by cancer, or knows someone who’s had it so we’re trying to cure it one cupcake at a time.”

“A lot of elderly people have claimed they haven’t seen many youth fighting the cause so I encourage other college students to participate any way possible,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez will be at Walmart each Saturday until the Relay For Life event from 11 a.m. until around 4 p.m. or until the cupcakes are gone.

All cupcakes are baked each Friday at the Sanchez residence with homemade frosting.

Red velvet, chocolate peanut butter, chocolate-covered strawberry cheesecak and German chocolate are a few of the flavors to choose from.

For information on Relay For Life contact Lynda Fisher at [email protected], or visit the Relay For Life of Norwalk website at RelayForLife.org/norwalkca.