Since its inception, the Columbus Archonette Club has focused on community service. But it wasn”t until cancer touched one of its own that Relay for Life was added to its list of philanthropies.
Jennisha Peoples passed away May 4, 2002, at the age of 18 due to ovarian cancer. She never made it to her own high school graduation.
“She was a fighter. We had Relay in April and that night she wanted to come out and walk,” recalls Mary Moore, Archonettes sponsor and president of the Columbus Boys and Girls Club board of directors. “I went (to the hospital) to see her and she said she wanted me to continue to work with the girls and keep them motivated to walk for Relay for Life because (cancer) was something we would all have to go through.
“She never did come out of the hospital.”
Eight years later, 13 young ladies are carrying out Jennisha”s wishes. The Archonettes, the junior branch of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc., have been on a months-long fund raising drive leading up to Relay for Life, April 23 at the Magnolia Bowl.
So far, they”ve popped up in the Wal-Mart parking lot soliciting donations from passers-by, they hosted a Valentine”s Day dance at the Boys and Girls Club, they”ve been selling luminaria memory candles and they”re about to branch out to raise $150 individually.
“It feels good — like I”m a part of something and doing something to help someone else,” said Archonette Courtney Malone, 18.
The girls are in full fundraiser-mode now, but it hasn”t been a natural transition for all. When they hit the Wal-Mart parking lot two weeks ago they had to get mentally prepared.
“Doing the Wal-Mart thing, you don”t know how people are going to respond. People will just walk past you or say no. And there”s a certain way of saying no that”s just … it”s not friendly,” said Archonette Chanta “Kitty” Sherrod, 18. “But you won”t get anything if you don”t ask.”
The girls eventually raised more than $1,200 at Wal-Mart and got some insight in the process.
“When we first started, I didn”t want to ask people for money,” said Miraysha Johnson, 17. “But when people told stories (about battling cancer), it made me want to push a little harder.”
Moore found one of the girls in tears at one point and thought something had gone wrong.
“She had tears flowing out of her eyes, and I thought something had happened to her, and she said a man had told her the story of how he had cancer and he was so proud to see her standing there collecting for a good cause,” Moore said.
It”s a good cause to which Moore wants to recruit more young people.
“I want to let them know when Relay for Life comes and goes, it”s not a stopping point. It”s just a beginning,” she said.
The Archonettes will keep working as long as Moore is at the helm. They”ll be at Relay for 12 hours, 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., as one of 55 teams as well as selling Ro-Tel and snowcone cupcakes to add to their donation.
Cristy Brown, 17 and an Archonettel, has seen first hand how cancer can wreck a community. She was 9 years old and attending Stevens Chapel Missionary Baptist Church when the Rev. Joe Lee People”s daughter, Jennisha, succumbed to cancer.
“It was very sad because that”s the pastor”s daughter. Everyone took it hard,” she said.
It”s a lesson Cristy will never forget. And it”s a lesson her mother, Sarah Hicks, believes everyone will learn eventually.
“I try to teach Cristy to give of herself and Relay For Life is a great thing. Because it doesn”t matter what race you are. Cancer has and will affect everyone before you leave.”
Relay For Life benefits the American Cancer Society. Proceeds go toward cancer research as well as care of local patients and facilities.
The Archonettes are a nonprofit youth auxiliary group. Their aim is to help young ladies grow culturally, socially and educationally, with a strong emphasis on community service.
The group has been nationally recognized for its work with Relay For Life. In 2007, the Columbus Archonettes received an award from the American Cancer Society for raising $3,500.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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