Barbecue for Drew charity event benefits former GCSU student

Barbecue for Drew was a charity event held in honor of former GCSU student Drew Leathers, who has a condition known as Schwannomatosis. Schwannomatosis is a form of neurofibromatosis and is characterized with tumors on spinal, cranial and peripheral nerves. It is a rare disorder only known to affect one in every 40,000 people.

Leathers’ friends held a Sept. 18 event to raise money and awareness for his cause. Four of his friends, graduate student Nathan Wilcher, senior nursing major Brandon Thomason, senior biology major Kevin Johnson and senior environmental science major Maxwell Mangrum extended their hands and hearts to organize the event.

“He’s our friend and has a terrible disease, but his spirits are high,” Wilcher said. “We will never be able to relate to what he is going through but this is something we can do.”

Leathers was said to be completely unaware of the fundraiser, as he is residing in Shepherd Spinal Center in Atlanta undergoing treatment. This made it easier for his friends to distribute fliers around the GCSU campus without Leathers knowing.

“We will pick a time this week that will be good for him and go to the hospital to present him with the check as well as a banner people have signed and a video we have made for him,” Mangrum said.

The event was held at 353 Doles Boulevard. Those attending were encouraged to make donations, buy a raffle ticket and enjoy a hearty helping of barbecue. Raffle tickets could be purchased for $1 each. Barbecue plates could be purchased for $5 and included a barbecue sandwich, baked beans and potato chips. About 100 plates were purchased and all of the funds raised will go directly to Leathers and his family.

Not only did Leathers’ friends collect contributions to finance and supply the barbecue, they were also given donations to use in a raffle. Scoops provided a gift basket and Amici Italian Cafe provided gift cards to go toward the raffle. A Satterfield’s Restaurant and Catering, of Macon, donated a 55-pound pig to supply the large amount of meat needed for the barbecue.

“I was really surprised at how willing the businesses were to donate,” Johnson said.

Leathers and his family have created a foundation for Schwannomatosis with a Web site (www.tumornators.com). Documentation of his journey with Schwannomatatosis can be found there. The Web site also allows for donations to be made to go toward the Tumornators foundation.

“Knowing him, he will put everything we raise to Tumornators because that is what he and his family always do with everything they are given,” Thomason said.

Events such as these bring reflections of hope and high spirits to the center of struggles, reminding us to extend our kindness to those in hardship. Thanks to the hearts of some GCSU students and others, one more step has been taken to make our world a better place.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 25 2009. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry