Crandall Cares 4 Cancer | January 14, 2011

I have been friends with the Woody Family since I was in fourth grade. I have vivid memories of studying with their oldest son, Josh, who was my age and doing class projects with him. Our families have been close ever since and it was a sad day when Josh and I both left W.B. Travis Academy on the last day of 7th grade, just one year short of completing their entire 5 year curriculum. Josh moved to Crandall and I moved to Plano. I’ve kept in touch with their family and honestly, I wasn’t all that surprised when Debi, Mrs. Woody called me on my cell phone on a Tuesday night in early January. 

-Cody Struck (Gray), Tre’s Family, and Myself at the Fundraiser-

She told me the story about a family friend of her’s. Cody Struck, has been raising money for 5 years in honor of his friend, Tre, who lost his life to cancer at . I found it incredible, that at such a young age (12), Cody did what few adults dared to do.Set a goal and do everything in his power to achieve it. Cody has raised over $10,00 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to date! And thus, I was hooked and agreed to make an appearance at Cody’s next fundraiser: C3 Dodgeball Fundraiser in Crandall, Texas. 

 At the event, I had the privilege of talking to all the boys and girls who came out to support Cody about how cancer can affect your life and to follow in Cody’s footsteps in making a difference. It was wonderful to see how close a community can come together to help one another and it really touched me that they were all willing to do everything they could to help Cody reach his goal. I’m going to be honest and say I had the FULL INTENTION of playing dodgeball, but when I saw how intense these Crandall kids got (I even took off my crown because I was afraid it’d get knocked off), I decided to opt out. I watched from the sidelines as I talked to other families and signed autographs. I had a great time supporting a phenomenal cause and it is always nice to reconnect with old friends.

I encourage everyone to check out Cody’s website: http://www.c3crandallcares4cancer.org/index.php or FaceBook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/C3-Crandall-Cares-4-Cancer/213688517237 

Check the event list and see if you can attend their next event. It truly is for a great cause. 

Debi Woody and I