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Coaches vs. Cancer event nears

Spaghetti, basketball make winning combination

T-G STAFF REPORT
Posted 1/3/23

Sixteen years ago, the Cascade Cafeteria Scholarship Fund started when Judy Pope finished her fight with liver cancer and passed away.  

In the years since, that tragic event has grown into …

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Coaches vs. Cancer event nears

Spaghetti, basketball make winning combination

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Sixteen years ago, the Cascade Cafeteria Scholarship Fund started when Judy Pope finished her fight with liver cancer and passed away. 

In the years since, that tragic event has grown into a local movement of helping in the fight against Cancer. 

Judy was the mother of then Cascade High School Basketball Coach Charlie Pope and mother-in-law to Cindy Pope. 

Each year Charlie and Cindy, with the support of the community and Cascade High School, would host a Coaches vs Cancer event at one of the home basketball games at Cascade High School. The event includes a spaghetti dinner and a “cancer dedicated” basketball game. 

The money raised from the dinner goes toward a scholarship given to a senior at Cascade High School who had been impacted by Cancer. The money raised from the Cancer Awareness t-shirts is donated to The Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research which also provides grants nationwide. 

This year was a year for growth and opportunity. The Pope family reached out to Shelby Taylor, who serves on the Bedford Cancer Foundation board, about getting the Bedford Cancer Foundation involved with the movement they started over a decade ago. The Bedford Cancer Foundation helps alleviate the financial burden of cancer for eligible patients in Bedford County. 

“I’m excited to help, one, get another student involved in giving more scholarships to help with their college, and two, getting the word out about a local nonprofit that supports Bedford County,” said Taylor. 

Taylor’s father, Brad Sudduth who passed away in July of this year from cancer, was a good friend of the Popes. Their families became very close over the years and consider one another to be more like family. Taylor even received this scholarship in 2015 when she graduated from Cascade High School. 

She used the scholarship to attend Middle Tennessee State University. She said it’s nice to know she was recognized. 

The Bedford Cancer Foundation is excited for the opportunity to partner with the Pope Family and two of the local high schools to host not one but two Coaches vs Cancer events this year. The hope is to expand this event to all high schools by next year. 

“It makes me feel like we’re making a difference,” she said. 

Cascade High School’s event will be held Tuesday, January 17. The spaghetti dinner will be served from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the high school’s cafeteria. Shelbyville Central High Schools event will be held Tuesday, January 31. The spaghetti dinner will be served from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. in the high school’s cafeteria. The basketball games will follow the dinners. 

Dinner tickets for both events will be $10 each and can be pre-purchased or bought at the door. To-go plates will be available as well. 

You can pre-purchase a Cancer Awareness t-shirt through January 6 to show your support. 

This year, the money raised from the spaghetti dinner will go towards two scholarships — one to a Cascade High School senior and another to a Shelbyville Central High School Student who has been impacted by cancer. Students who qualify for the scholarship will receive an application from their school guidance counselor and candidates will be selected in the spring, according to Taylor. 

The money raised from the t-shirt sales will be split between the Bedford Cancer Foundation the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research. 

For more information on purchasing dinner tickets or a t-shirt, please contact Shelby Taylor at 931-224-8815 or visit the Bedford Cancer Foundation website www.bedfordcancerfoundation.org.