LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – On Monday, Lubbock Christian University’s Phi Kappa Phi sorority will host a Halloween carnival as a fundraiser for their friend and sister Ashleigh Reedy, who has been diagnosed with metastatic melanoma .
Her friends say they know Reed as a girl with a big heart and will do anything they can to help her.
“Ashleigh is the personification of God’s sweetness, purity and love,” said Phi Kappa Phi secretary Madelyn Wideman. “Since this is a Lubbock Christian University social club, we can share our faith and she can share her faith.”
19-year-old Reedy found melanoma spots on her skin two years ago. Those spots were removed, but Madalyn Franklin, her cousin and sorority sister, says things changed that first year.
“She just started getting sick every now and then and she thought it was no big deal because, just — you live in dorms where you get sick,” Franklin said. “She kept getting worse and worse, and she was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma.”
Metastatic melanoma is when the cancer spreads through the lymph nodes or bloodstream. Reedy is now in the fourth stage.
The college sophomore goes to a clinical trial every week, but Franklin says Reedy’s professors understand.
“Everyone has worked with him. She, most of everything is pretty much online, so she does it all that way, and then she comes to class when she can, she comes to church when she can,” Franklin said.
Franklin says Reedy hasn’t let that stop him. Reedy is still pursuing a science degree and wants to get involved.
An events director for Kappa, Maddie Carter, says planning a Halloween party was a lot of work, but being able to help someone they love put the cherry on top.
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“We had the idea to help Ashleigh and make it a community-wide fundraiser for her,” Carter said.
The owners of the Stone Creek Event Center are letting Kappa use the venue for free as they are hosting a fundraiser. `
Kappa President Celee Smith says that’s what the club is all about.
“Faith is really like the focal point of our club and it’s kind of what holds us together. Especially at Kappa, we really believe in the power of prayer and the power to help each other,” Smith said.
The carnival is Monday at the Stone Creek Event Center from 6 pm to 8:30 pm Tickets for games and raffles range from 50 cents to a dollar.
If you can’t make it to the carnival, you can donate to her cause on Venmo @KappaPhiKappa.
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