Eleven years ago this March, BV student Julie O’Neal passed away from cystic fibrosis.
Student Council continues to support cystic fibrosis research by donating all profits made from the Matchmaker quizzes to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF).
“It helps to keep her memory alive,” student body treasurer senior Taylor Leathers said. “It’s kind of a sign of respect. It shows she was loved here, and, even though it’s been a while, we still support the cause.”
Cystic fibrosis, a life-threatening disease, affects the lungs and digestive system.
The money donated to the CFF helps fund research to find new treatments and a cure.
Students complete the Matchmaker questionnaires during school.
The company then sends back the results that pair students with their best matches based on their answers.
The Matchmaker results cost $2. One dollar goes to the company, and the other dollar is donated to CFF.
“We are constantly in search of charities that we can give the money we raise that are near and dear to our hearts,” Leathers said. “With a young lady who died of the disease, it makes sense that we donate there.”
Julie was a junior when she passed away in 2001. She realized her best option was to have a lung transplant, which she had in November of 2000 in St. Louis, MO.
She returned home in February, but then started having complications and passed away in March.
Julie’s parents said they are thankful that StuCo continues to donate to CFF.
“It’s very touching,” Julie’s father Mike O’Neal said. “It’s very special to us. I remember one thing, in Julie’s last months she was alive, when she knew that she was dying, she always wanted people to remember her. So it means a lot.”
StuCo sponsor Mark Mosier said the Matchmaker quizzes have been used as a fundraiser for the past 15 years, but it wasn’t until Julie’s death that the students donated the profits to CFF.
“The students chose to commemorate or memorialize Julie as well as donate to cystic fibrosis in her name,” he said. “Since that time, whatever profits the students make from Matchmaker [go to CFF].”
Julie’s mother Janet O’Neal said Julie would have enjoyed the Matchmaker quizzes.
“She was just a real people-person,” Janet said. “She was curious about people. She loved to laugh and loved people.”
The Matchmaker results will be sold for $2 on Feb. 7-9 in the commons during lunch.