Scholarship success

This weekend we had the the yard sale to raise money for Jennifer's scholarship. We had a great turnout and even though we didn't have as much stuff as we did last year, we still made just as much money. I believe the final tally was around $2,700!!! It's hard to believe you can do that at a yard sale but we did it! Of course, it wasn't all from the sale. We did get a pretty nice donation from Jennifer's in-laws and we got another donation from her aunt and uncle. And most everyone who bought something gave a little something extra. But we did good and I am so excited to see us just about meet our year 2 goal! And, we have another fundraiser in September so I'm hopeful we can go over the $10,000 goal for the first two years. 

I would love to see Jennifer's scholarship get the $25,000 needed before the 5 years are up. But even more than that, I'd love to see it go over $25,000. The more money we raise, the more scholarships can be given. How awesome would it be to help several kids with this scholarship? 

When I first came up with the idea to do this for Jennifer, I did it for several reasons. I did it because I had spent too much time grieving in a negative way and I wanted to turn my grief into something positive. That's what Jennifer would have wanted. Secondly, I wanted to be able to give something that would remember Jennifer forever. She gave me such a great gift with her friendship and I wanted to do something in return to say "thank you." But finally, and what has turned out to be the most important reason for doing this, I wanted to give her family something that would carry on Jennifer's memory forever. I know they will never forget her and through this, every music student at ECU will get to learn about Jennifer Ragland Evans as well. She was a great person and she's someone I don't want us to ever forget. I want her memory to live on forever. I want Corbin to have the opportunity to get this scholarship in 18-19 years, if he decides to pursue music. I want Corbin's kids to have the same opportunity. I think doing this scholarship has helped her parents. Like me, it's given them a new sense of direction and instead of grieving so much over their lost daughter, they've been able to put their grief into this scholarship. When Jennifer died, I promised her I would watch over her family and though I haven't been able to be there as much as I should have, I feel this scholarship has helped get them through this hard time. 

I was unsure if I could do this at first. I knew I'd need help and support and I felt like I could get that support because as much as Jennifer touched me, there are dozens more people she's touched as well. I was right. I'm in awe at how helpful and supportive my own family have been with this. They have come to EVERY fundraiser and helped. They have written their own checks, made their own donations and just been there every step of the way. I am so blessed to have a family that has stepped up to be there for me through this. They know how much Jennifer meant to me and I'm sure they saw how special she was as well. I couldn't have made this happen with my family's support or without the support of Jennifer's parents. We are almost halfway there and I can't wait to see this scholarship put into action!!!