ROCKINGHAM – What Richmond Senior High School student Greyson Way is most often associated with is her dominance as a pitcher for the Lady Raiders softball team, which is currently ranked as the No. 1 team in North Carolina’s 4A classification.
Way currently leads 4A in total strikeouts, according to Maxpreps, having canned 164 batters is just 116.1 innings of work. But the junior ace is also helping lead the charge in striking out something else – childhood cancer.
As a member of RSHS’ National Beta Club, Way is undertaking a momentous project this spring to help a local seven-year-old Montgomery County girl in her battle against leukemia. Kaylin “KK” Rush, who’s the daughter of Ben and Allison Rush, was first diagnosed with the disease when she was just four. KK and her parents currently live in Montgomery County along with her two sisters and newborn baby brother.
“I first heard her story at a softball game at West Montgomery High School around this time last year,” Way recalled of Richmond’s trip to Mt. Gilead on March 10, 2017. “I remember the announcers telling her story and her throwing out the first pitch of the game like it was yesterday.
“From that day forward, my perspective on life completely changed,” she continued. “I realized that life is precious, and that none of my ‘bad days’ will ever compare to what she has been through.”
Through hearing of KK’s story, and her intrinsic desire to help others, Way has organized and planned a “Penny War” fundraiser to benefit the Rush family. The battle of collecting copper coins will begin Monday, April 30, and run for two weeks, with a midway checkpoint on Friday, May 4, to tally the collected funds to date. But, Way noted, if the collection is successful, it could last even longer.
Noting that she was “inspired beyond belief” upon hearing of KK’s story, Way decided to use this opportunity as a Beta Club project.
“I wanted to find a way to give back and help her and her family,” Way explained. “I know that God calls us to serve others and make a difference, and that is what I would like to do.”
The Penny War will be implemented throughout Richmond County Schools’ four middle schools, as well as Richmond Senior. Way said the money raised with be donated to the Rush family to help cover some of KK’s medical expenses.
During the fundraiser, Way hopes to incite a little bit of friendly competition amongst different schools in the county in hopes to get as many funds raised as possible. According to Way, Hamlet Middle School will compete against Rockingham Middle School, and Ellerbe Middle School will compete against Cordova Middle School, with the total funds raised being the mark of who “wins.” Richmond Senior High School will also be a part of this special event.
“The objective of the competition is to compete to raise more money than the other school by donating loose change,” Way said. “This game is on a point system. Pennies are positive and silver change subtracts from the other school’s amount. An example of this would be if a student donated 100 pennies, his/her school gets 100 points. But if the other school puts in a quarter, it would subtract 25 points from its total and take the school’s total down to 75 points.”
On the checkpoint date, Way will collect the money raised from each school and count up the current leaders. She will then relay the standings to each school. Also, flyers will be handed out to each school and be displayed in homeroom classes to explain and remind students about the competition. Each school will also have a designated faculty member to assist in operating the Penny War.
When asked what she wanted the final goal of the fundraiser to be, Way said “there is no specific goal” that’s set for the project. But she does hope to raise a good bit of money, as all the proceeds will go to KK and her family to cover medical expenses.
“This is something that I have been wanting to do for a while and is a project that means the world to me,” Way expressed, noting that this is a solo Beta Club endeavor. “Mrs. (Suzanne) Hudson, my Beta advisor, has helped me make this possible.”
Way also explained that this fundraiser is “by no means limited to (middle school) students or the Penny War schools.” She is encouraging people in the surrounding community to donate to this cause by contacting her directly at (910) 995-8549, or by sending money with students to school to turn in.
“Through this project, I just hope to help out KK and her family as much as I can. I want to be able to give back to the little girl who inspired me more than she will ever know,” Way commented. “Kaylin has been through more in her seven years of life than most of us will go through in a lifetime.
“She’s absolutely amazing, she is without a doubt a fighter, she honestly deserves the world,” Way concluded. “And I can’t wait for the day that she can finally say she kicked cancer’s butt. Also, I would like to say ‘thank you’ in advance to everyone that will be taking part in this event. It means so much to me.”
Greyson Way contributed information included in this article.
