PHOTOS: Relay for Life tops goal despite weather

Skies darkened and storms threatened, but students at Vestavia Hills High School were not to be stopped in their pursuit of raising funds for cancer research.

The 2017 Relay for Life event at VHHS was the culmination of a semester-long effort to raise funds, and even though plans were derailed late in the afternoon thanks to a line of storms moving across the state, most of the students stuck it out and continued the event in the gym.

In the end, students raised a total of $280,007.29 through this year's Relay efforts, topping last year's total of $275,500.

For the first half of the day, students lined the parking lot with tents and booths as teams aimed to raise additional funds. There were snacks ranging from churros and cotton candy to fried Oreos and Boba tea. Others had even more creative fundraisers, from "galaxy buns" to add glitter to hair to a phone charging station and mini-Segway rides.

This year's Relay for Life was dedicated to Charlotte Baker, VHHS student and daughter of Board of Education member Lisa Baker, who has been battling cancer since December.

Relay chairs CC Daniels and McKinley Rohrer said that the weather was a challenge. 

"We could not do it without the support of our entire school," Daniels said.

"And our community," Rohrer added.

Superintendent Sheila Phillips spoke to the students at the end of the evening before the reveal of the total raised, congratulating them on their efforts.

"I want to thank every single student who has participated in any way in making this effort possible," Phillips said. "You all have given up so much time and energy, I know you are exhausted, and you all are to be commended for the work that you have done."