TRACKING TIME—Cancer survivors walk the survivors’ lap during the start of the Relay for Life at Royal High School last Saturday. Below are three personal stories from the inspirational event. Personal stories of selflessness, dedication and survival were everywhere last weekend at Royal High School, where Relay for Life brought together hundreds of local residents in support of those affected by cancer.

Seven-year-old Allie Prins of Simi Valley showed her support by parting with some of her waist-length hair, donating it to Locks for Love. The nonprofit organization provides hairpieces to children suffering from hair loss due to a medical condition.

“I wanted to grow my hair and give it to other little girls who didn’t have hair and had cancer so they wouldn’t be afraid to go outside,” Allie said.

Volunteers for Locks of Love cut Allie’s hair on-site.

Allie Prins “Allie decided to grow her hair on her own,” said Justin Arman, her stepfather. “I couldn’t believe how grown up she sounded when she told us what she wanted to do. My wife and I are very proud of her,” he said.

Allie’s family, which also includes her mom, Jessica, and brothers, Michael, 9, and Azlan, 6 months, joined the event in support of Allie’s grandmother, Donna Baxter, a local resident and cancer survivor. Their “Miracle Worker” team raised $1,500.

Meanwhile, Simi Valley resident Keri Nelson came up with a novel way to join the fight against cancer.

For the past two weeks, her friend Mae has been making the rounds in the city requesting donations.

Mae is a mannequin dressed in a housecoat and towing a vacuum cleaner. She’s shown up unexpectedly on neighbors’ lawns with a note attached, asking the homeowner for a donation.

Nelson, who has three children, wanted to do something unique to raise cancer awareness after her mother, Leona Brown, died in August from lung cancer.

“I came up with the idea by looking at mannequins in store windows,” she said. “Mae stays about 12 hours in front of a house. The next day she gets transported somewhere else.”

This is the first year Nelson and her family participated in the event. Her mother was a nonsmoker and a marathon runner who had no symptoms of the disease until it was too late.  “We’re walking to support her and support all the families touched by cancer,” Nelson said. “We’re here to support the whole community.”

Mae has become a celebrity, the initial shocked reactions from unsuspecting residents notwithstanding.

“I walked outside and saw this mannequin vacuuming my lawn with her Hoover. I thought it was some sort of prank or Halloween thing,” said Sylvan Tauber, a teacher at Simi Valley High School. “Every time she shows up on your lawn, it’s a reason to donate and then send her to someone else.”

Of the $1,300 raised by the Nelsons’ “Team Onie,” Mae personally raised $300 with her late-night antics.

Team spirit is at the heart of Relay for Life.

When 13-year-old Matthew Stein got the news that his great-uncle Bruce Richter was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, he wanted to help. Last year his team, “Bruce’s Band,” raised $5,200.

“My son got together some of his friends and started the team in honor of my uncle,” said Aileen Stein, Matthew’s mother. The family lives in Newbury Park.

“Everyone was so inspired by what they had done last year, they wanted to keep going and do it again,” Stein said.

This year, Matthew’s team of students and family raised more than $8,000. But what gave the experience even greater meaning, Richter flew from his home in New Jersey and marched along with Matthew and his family.

“He’s amazing. He always has a smile on his face,” Matthew said. “We walked together around the track and he said he was proud of me.”