• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About Us
  • Videos
    • Featured Video
    • Foodie Friday
    • Monthly ReCap
  • Online E-Editions
    • This Week’s E-Editions
    • 2023
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
  • Social Media
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
  • Advertising
  • Local Jobs
  • Puzzles & Games
  • Circulation Request

The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

  • Home
  • News
    • Land O’ Lakes
    • Lutz
    • Wesley Chapel/New Tampa
    • Zephyrhills/East Pasco
    • Business Digest
    • Senior Parks
    • Nature Notes
    • Featured Stories
    • Photos of the Week
    • Reasons To Smile
  • Sports
    • Land O’ Lakes
    • Lutz
    • Wesley Chapel/New Tampa
    • Zephyrhills and East Pasco
    • Check This Out
  • Education
  • Pets/Wildlife
  • Health
    • Health Events
    • Health News
  • What’s Happening
  • Sponsored Content
    • Closer Look
  • Homes
  • Obits
  • Public Notices
    • Browse Notices
    • Place Notices

Stellar student raises money for cancer, helps autistic children

April 14, 2010 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Suzanne Schmidt

Staff Writer

Most teenagers in high school spend their free time hanging out with friends, but Shelby Thompson from Wesley Chapel volunteers to help children with autism and raises money for cancer research.Shelby Thompson of Wesley Chapel sits with her dog Sissy. (Photo by Suzanne Schmidt)

It is Thompson’s fourth year as a team captain for the The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. The event will be at Wesley Chapel High School May 7 and 8. She has already raised $1,699 making her a Star Supporter of the Relay.

“It is my sixth year doing the Relay,” Thompson said. “My Nene (grandmother) was diagnosed with cancer four years ago. My family and I all wanted to help. I think it is a great way to help raise awareness and to help people.”

Betty Border, Thompson’s grandmother, was diagnosed with colon cancer but is in complete remission for two years. Thompson said she will be walking the survivor lap with her and her sister, Lynzie, and her mom Sandy because they were all caregivers.

Her team is called the Extreme Teens and is made up of her, her sister, her parents Sandy and Alex and five other teens. She has raised the money for the Relay through several fundraisers including restaurant nights, asking for donations in front of Publix and sending letters to friends and family who then send them on to their friends and family. The team has raised $2,100 with a goal of raising $2,500.

“Since the theme is 50 states for a cure, I am trying to get money from all 50 states,” Thompson said. “I like to read about witches so we chose the state of Massachusetts and our theme is the Salem Witch Trials.”

It is not enough to just raise money to fight cancer, she is also involved with helping children with autism. She is a peer volunteer at Watergrass Elementary School.
“I work with the special needs kids on Tuesday and Thursday,” Thompson said. “I help with snack and do crafts with them. I love it because their faces light up when they see me. It is so rewarding. I love those little guys.”

In December, Thompson won third place for her age group in the St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital Kids are Heroes program. She said it was a surprise and an honor.

Stephanie Watts, staff partner for the Wesley Chapel High School Relay for Life, nominated Thompson for the Kids are Heroes award because she deserves the recognition.

“She is a stellar young lady and has a lot of potential to do amazing things in this world,” Watts said. “She has done so much for the community and she is such a giving person. She doesn’t do the good work for any purpose except to give back.”

Thompson volunteered at the Special Olympics for the last three years, because she loves how excited the kids get.

“I go with the school I am volunteering at and I just stay with the kids to make sure they are doing what they are supposed to,” Thompson said. “The kids get so excited because they get to be with kids like them. They get to interact with each other in friendly competition. I love cheering them on and seeing them smile.”

Thompson also volunteers in Susan Fischer’s fifth-grade class every Wednesday at Watergrass because she wants to someday be a teacher.

“Ever since I was little I wanted to be a teacher,” Thompson said. “I get to work with them with crafts and help to grade papers. I also sometimes get to help teach the class.”

Thompson decided when she was only 3-years-old that she wanted to be a teacher. Her mother said she used to try to get her 1-year-old sister to sit down so she could teach her things.

“When she was little, she would sit with her sister and show her flash cards,” Sandy Thompson said. “She always would try to make her sit and read with her.”

Not only is Thompson very involved in the community, she also finds the time to be an exceptional student. Her grade point average is 4.19 and she is a member of the high school’s Interact Club, which is through the Rotary, and a member of the National Honor Society. Through the community service club, she has helped to sign up people for blood drives and gift-wrapped presents at Barnes & Noble during Christmas.

Her favorite thing to do is read. She said she loves to read science fiction, fantasy and youth.

“I am always reading,” Thompson said. “I think reading is better than movies, because I can use my imagination. When I read something I can picture it how I want. There are so many details in the books and you can learn so much from reading.”

Thompson also recently found out she is the student of the month for Wesley Chapel High School.

“I think she is awesome,” Sandy Thompson said. “I am very proud of her. She puts her heart out there. She would rather help people then go out with her friends.”

For more information about the Wesley Chapel High School relay, visit www.relayforlife.org/wesleychapelfl.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email
  • Print

Like this:

Like Loading...

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Search

Sponsored Content

New Community Garden Arrives at Del Webb Bexley 

March 28, 2023 By Kelli Carmack

Exciting things are happening at Del Webb Bexley, the 55+ active adult residential community just off Sunlake Boulevard, … [Read More...] about New Community Garden Arrives at Del Webb Bexley 

TPA-Parkview-Myrtle

Imagine More at Mattamy Homes’ Area Communities

March 28, 2023 By Kelli Carmack

With every new home community, Mattamy Homes demonstrates their dedication to thoughtful details and meaningful value … [Read More...] about Imagine More at Mattamy Homes’ Area Communities

More Posts from this Category

What’s Happening

04/01/2023 – Bunny Hop Eggstravaganza

The Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex, 3032 Collier Parkway, will host a Bunny Hop Eggstravaganza on April 1 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be bounce houses, games, music, food trucks, and scheduled egg scrambles. The event will be at the outside football fields and basketball court. Registration is required to participate in the egg scrambles. The cost is $3 per child. Children ages 2 to 10 can register with their age division and time frame at Secure.rec1.com/FL/pasco-county-fl/catalog. For questions, call 813-929-1220. … [Read More...] about 04/01/2023 – Bunny Hop Eggstravaganza

04/01/2023 – Cacti and Things

Kessler’s Cacti and Things will host its annual Spring Plant Sale on April 1 and April 2 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine, at Bearss Grove, 14316 Lake Magdalene Blvd., in Tampa. The event features thousands of plant varieties, and an assortment of specimen and collector’s plants. For information, email . For questions and directions, call 813-264-5614. … [Read More...] about 04/01/2023 – Cacti and Things

04/01/2023 – Dade City Art Walk

The Downtown Dade City Art Walk will take place April 1 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. There will be more than 20 art locations for guests to meet the artists and shop local artwork, as well as a little Pre-Casso Exhibit for young aspiring artists. There will be an opening ceremony at 5 p.m., along with a map distribution, at Florida Cracker Lunch on Limoges. … [Read More...] about 04/01/2023 – Dade City Art Walk

04/01/2023 – Easter Bash

Hope City Church, 5513 School Road in Land O’ Lakes, will host an Easter Bash on April 1, for the whole family. Admission is free. For information, call 813-948-7555. … [Read More...] about 04/01/2023 – Easter Bash

04/01/2023 – Food Truck Festival

An International Food Truck Festival will take place on April 1 and April 2 at the Tampa Premium Outlets, 2300 Grand Cypress Drive in Lutz, with more than 70 food trucks, tents and trailers, to benefit local charities. Admission is $5. For more information, call 727-674-1464. … [Read More...] about 04/01/2023 – Food Truck Festival

04/01/2023 – Historical Association

The Zephyrhills Historical Association will meet on April 1 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at the Zephyrhills Public Library, 5347 Eighth St. Participants can discover and discuss historical events, places and people of Zephyrhills and Pasco County. For information, call 813-780-0064. … [Read More...] about 04/01/2023 – Historical Association

More of What's Happening

Archives

 

 

Where to pick up The Laker and Lutz News

Copyright © 2023 Community News Publications Inc.

   
%d bloggers like this: