NORWOOD, Ohio -- Seven hot air balloons lit up the night sky outside Norwood High School Saturday as part of an annual event to raise money for cancer research.
"Glow For The Cure" is in its fourth year, and hundreds of people came out. The longterm goal is to "erase" cancer. Saturday, they were hoping to raise $5,000 for The Cure Starts Now and the iWill Awareness Foundation.
It's a personal issue for Laura Ferguson, the afterschool program director for Norwood City Schools. Her mom died at age 42 from breast cancer, and her husband is battling melanoma.
"Trying to erase it, that's my hope," she said. "That's my prayer: that in my lifetime we see it erased."
The event included food trucks, music, dancing and other activities in addition to the balloons.
Ron Terranova has been ballooning since 1996.
"Coming to an event like this is a fun thing to do," he said. "It's a chance to get out and bring ballooning up close and personal to people."
For Ferguson, the balloons remind her of her mom.
"It would make her smile," she said. "I think she is smiling."
