Most three year olds are looking forward to playing outside or the next time they get to see their friends. Three year old cancer patient Jalene looks forward to these same things, she just does not have as much free time to play with friends because she has to spend her time going through chemo and radiation, and stem cell procedures to try and battle for her life. When she does finally get to spend some time with her family in her actually home, they all share one big room, so she does not really have a space that she can call her own.
In hopes of trying to give Jalene this special place to call her own, the volleyball team, along with the organization Special Spaces, raised money for this cause.
“We [wanted] to raise four thousand dollars,” senior Devon Kane said. “[To] help pay for the contractor [who] will make the room.”
The girls were inspired to take action by each other, and the special relationship they have as a team.
“The team was inspired to help because we have been able to help each other grow so much during our season,” senior Jessica Plasters said. “We wanted to reach out and change [Jalene’s] life, much like [how] our lives have changed.”
This was about more than just the team trying to make an impression on the life of a young girl, however, it also served as a way for the girls to learn about life.
“I think this is just a neat way to give back to the community,” varsity volleyball Coach Margaret Mitcham said. “[To] show the kids that there is more to life than volleyball and high school.”
The lives of the players has changed during this unique opportunity, which is to be expected when involved with cases such as this. It taught some invaluable lessons that could not have been learned with out this organization.
” [This experience] has showed me how precious life is and how lucky I am to have my health and how easily it can be taken away from me,” Plasters said. “[This experience just] shows how important it is to cherish every moment and to try and make this world a better place [in] the little time that I have.”
Jalene is scheduled to come meet the team in January, after the winter break, to give both parties a chance for a face to face meeting.
