Gulf Coast Federal Credit Union joins Relay for Life in Jim Wells County

Gulf Coast Federal Credit Union helped drive Jim Wells County’s Relay for Life toward its $10,000 goal, with the Alice branch listed among the event’s strongest fundraisers at Anderson Park.

The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life of Jim Wells and Duval County was listed for April 24, 2026, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Anderson Park in Alice. When the event page was checked, organizers had raised $9,043.34 toward the goal, and Gulf Coast Federal Credit Union was shown with $4,325, the top fundraising total on the page.

The credit union’s team page showed a separate tally of $1,000 raised on a $1,000 goal and a ranking of 2 out of 30 teams, underscoring how local businesses and employees backed the annual walk and candlelight ceremony. Relay for Life is built around four signature elements: celebrating cancer survivors, honoring caregivers, a luminaria ceremony for loved ones lost, and raising money for research, patient support and advocacy.

That local meaning has been clear in Jim Wells County. In a Nov. 25, 2024 KRIS 6 News report, Laura Munoz said she keeps coming back after being diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer at age 32, a reminder of how many families in Alice and nearby communities have felt the disease up close. David Canales said he adds a deceased friend’s name to the memory walk list each year, turning the event into a personal act of remembrance as well as fundraising.

The American Cancer Society says Relay for Life has been going for 40 years, and the organization says it has invested $3.43 billion in cancer research since 1991. It also says it received more than 360,000 calls and chats from patients and caregivers in 2023, and provided nearly 769,000 rides through transportation support and grants that same year.

For Jim Wells County, the numbers tell only part of the story. The walk at Anderson Park connected the credit union’s Alice branch, survivors, caregivers and families still coping with cancer’s daily toll, while the luminaria ceremony gave the night its most familiar and hardest reminder of why the fundraising still matters.

Residents can still support Relay for Life by donating through local team pages, signing up to volunteer with the Jim Wells and Duval County effort, or using American Cancer Society patient support services for help with transportation, care questions and other cancer-related needs.