Participants in the Miss-Lou Relay for Life are closing in on a goal that’s 10 years in the making.

If the community meets this year’s $175,000 fund-raising goal, Relay will have raised $1 million over the past decade. Miss-Lou Relay for Life is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

The milestone would be just one of many ways that prove how the event has grown in the Miss-Lou. Relay for Life started in Natchez with 18 teams; this year, there are 51 teams.

Donations have grown each year by at least $8,000. That’s a fairly amazing achievement in a community that has seen some tough economic times in recent years.

Perhaps, as many Relay enthusiasts say, the reason is that cancer touches all of us, whether someone has suffered a form of cancer or watched a family member or friend endure the disease.

The event kicks off at 6:30 p.m. today, following a special survivors reception. Laps around the track at the Vidalia riverfront begin at 7 p.m., with a luminary service at 9 p.m.

Entertainment throughout the night will keep everyone awake, along with team events beginning just after midnight.

Relay for Life honors the survivors of cancer, remembers its victims and pledges resources to help stop the disease.

We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed that the group meets its fund-raising goal this year, and we have a feeling there will be a lot of celebrating when they do.