Nixon Herlean, 10, of Las Vegas participates in a torch relay, which was hosted by the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada, in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018. The relay was created to honor Candlelighters’ families in their fight against pediatric cancer as well as to commemorate the start of its 40th anniversary. Andrea Cornejo Las Vegas Review-Journal @DreaCornejo
Marci Theriault, 33, of Las Vegas and her 6-year-old daughter, Mia, participate in a torch relay, which was hosted by the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada, in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018. The relay was created to honor Candlelighters’ families in their fight against pediatric cancer as well as to commemorate the start of its 40th anniversary. Andrea Cornejo Las Vegas Review-Journal @DreaCornejo
Brittany Herlean, 34, and Mia Theriault, 6, lead the torch relay, which was hosted by the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada, in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018. The relay was created to honor Candlelighters’ families in their fight against pediatric cancer as well as to commemorate the start of its 40th anniversary. Andrea Cornejo Las Vegas Review-Journal @DreaCornejo
Brittany Herlean, 34, interacts with Mia Theriault, 6, before the torch relay, which was hosted by the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada, in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018. The relay was created to honor Candlelighters’ families in their fight against pediatric cancer as well as to commemorate the start of its 40th anniversary. Andrea Cornejo Las Vegas Review-Journal @DreaCornejo
Participants attend a torch relay, which was hosted by the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada, in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018. The relay was created to honor Candlelighters’ families in their fight against pediatric cancer as well as to commemorate the start of its 40th anniversary. Andrea Cornejo Las Vegas Review-Journal @DreaCornejo
Brittany Herlean, 34, and Mia Theriault, 6, get their picture taken during the torch relay, which was hosted by the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada, in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018. The relay was created to honor Candlelighters’ families in their fight against pediatric cancer as well as to commemorate the start of its 40th anniversary. Andrea Cornejo Las Vegas Review-Journal @DreaCornejo
Krew Herlean, 14, participates in a torch relay, which was hosted by the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada, in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018. The relay was created to honor Candlelighters’ families in their fight against pediatric cancer as well as to commemorate the start of its 40th anniversary. Andrea Cornejo Las Vegas Review-Journal @DreaCornejo
Participants attend a torch relay, which was hosted by the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada, in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018. The relay was created to honor Candlelighters’ families in their fight against pediatric cancer as well as to commemorate the start of its 40th anniversary. Andrea Cornejo Las Vegas Review-Journal @DreaCornejo
Melissa Cipriano, executive director of Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada, speaks to the crowd before a torch relay in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018. The relay was created to honor Candlelighters’ families in their fight against pediatric cancer as well as to commemorate the start of its 40th anniversary. Andrea Cornejo Las Vegas Review-Journal @DreaCornejo
Mia Theriault, 6, attends a torch relay, which was hosted by the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada, in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018. The relay was created to honor Candlelighters’ families in their fight against pediatric cancer as well as to commemorate the start of its 40th anniversary. Andrea Cornejo Las Vegas Review-Journal @DreaCornejo
Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada commemorated the start of its 40th anniversary year Sunday with an Olympic-style torch relay down the Strip to honor Candlelighters’ families in their fight against pediatric cancer.
Starting at the iconic Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, Candlelighters’ children and their parents passed a lighted torch every quarter-mile along the length of Las Vegas Boulevard South ending at the Downtown Container Park.
There, organizers held a ceremony, and a cauldron lit in honor of every family Candlelighters has touched over the past 40 years. The torch represents every Candlelighters’ cancer journey.
Candlelighters’ mission is to provide emotional support, quality of life programs, and financial assistance for children and their families affected by childhood cancer.