LATHROP – Win a car and help the Lathrop Relay for Life at the same time.

For the third year in a row, all proceeds from an opportunity drawing for a sporty red 2001 Camaro car will go to the 2012 Lathrop Relay for Life to be held Saturday, Aug. 11, at Valverde Community Park on Fifth Street. The car has only 35,000 miles and is being donated by USA Motors of Lathrop. This is also the third year that business owners Steve and Rhonda Ramsey have stepped forward to help with the seed money for the annual American Cancer Society fund-raiser.

Tickets for the car raffle are $20 each with only 500 tickets available. All proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society through the Lathrop Relay.

The drawing will be held Wednesday, June 20, during the monthly Lathrop Chamber mixer to be held at USA Motors which is hosting the event. The mixer will begin at 5:30 p.m. in conjunction with USA Motors’ annual customer appreciation celebration. The Mike Torres Band will provide the music, as they have done in previous years. There will be “free hot dogs and everything” for guests, said East Union High graduate Steve Ramsey.

As last year’s car winner found out, it only takes one ticket – or $20 – to win. She was a volunteer for the Lathrop Relay who purchased just one ticket and ended up winning the new Smart car that was up for grabs, Ramsey said.

“This year, it’s a 2001 Camaro with 35,000 miles. It’s a red one, and it’s beautiful,” said Ramsey of the V6 automatic vehicle.

The Ramseys have always been a low-key family but they decided to step forward into the limelight three years ago – albeit only for this philanthropic cause that is near and dear to them – “because we’re in this Relay (for Life) together, everyone who is a affected by cancer, and that includes my wife’s family, my family. We need to make some changes. This seems like one of the best causes in the area,” said Steve Ramsey.

“We feel pretty confident that this money (from the car raffle) goes directly toward things (like research for a cure) and toward administration costs,” he added.

Tickets for the car raffle can be purchased at USA Motors, 16201 Harlan Road (next to the northbound onramp on the east side of Interstate 5), telephone 209-983-8888 or by calling Jerry or Linda Rose at 209-609-0308. The used-car dealership is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Those who purchase tickets for the car raffle “do not need to be present (at the drawing) to win,” said Carol B. Smith, Team Development chairperson for the 2012 Relay for Life of Lathrop. The winning ticket will be drawn at 8 p.m. during the chamber mixer.

The Relay, which has been held in previous years in the Lathrop High School stadium, will be held Saturday, Aug. 11, at Valverde Park on Fifth Street in the Old Town District north of Lathrop Elementary School. It will begin with the opening ceremony at 10 a.m. The Survivor Lap will be at 10:30 a.m. The moving Luminaria Ceremony highlighted by the lighted candles will be held at 9 o’clock in the evening. The closing ceremony will take place the following day, Sunday, at 10 a.m.

The Relay for Life is an opportunity for everyone to not only honor cancer survivors and remember people they have lost their lives but also to help raise money for the race to find a cure for the deadly disease and raise public awareness to the continuing effort to help save lives.

For more information about the car raffle and the Lathrop Relay for Life, go to www.USAmotors.com, www.lathropchamber.org, or www.relayforlife.org/lathropca.