While we might seem like just a bunch of computer loving geeks, the team here at Hiive Systems also has a big heart, especially for great causes like the upcoming Illawarra Relay for Life.

Did you know that 50% of men and 1 in 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer before the age of 85? It is estimated that 111,000 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in Australia this year alone, touching people of all ages.

Relay for Life is an annual event run by the Cancer Council involving teams – and sometimes even individuals – walking for 24 hours, from 10am on Saturday, through the night, and finishing up at 10am on Sunday. Monies raised from the event are spent on cancer research, education, support services and advocacy towards the common goal of defeating cancer. Our local event is being held this weekend, and we’re hoping you can support us.

Our whole crew here at Hiive – and a few friends we’ve been able to talk into joining us – are going to be participating in the relay this weekend in Wollongong, and we’d love your support. You can make a tax-deductible donation online in just 2 minutes using your credit card – to do so, just visit http://www.relay.cancercouncil.com.au/?2009/illawarra_2009/team_hiive/ and click on the “donate” button on the bottom right of the page.

We’re planning to dress in theme and other activities to make it a bit more fun, and if you’re going to be around Wollongong this weekend and want to say hi, get some yummy honeycomb, and join us for a few special guest laps, we’d love to see you – just drop me an email at geoff [dot] mcqueen [at] hiivesystems [dot] com.

On a more serious note, cancer has touched many of us already. During Relay we like to take a moment to remember loved ones we’ve lost to cancer; if you have someone you’d like us to light a candle for during the Saturday evening remembrance ceremony, please reply to this email and we’ll be more than happy to do so.

Thanks for your support if you’re able to give it, and we’ll update our blog after the weekend with some of the best photos!