8th grader does her part to help patients

LIBERTY — Adi Johnson has transformed her competitive spirit into helping cancer patients undergoing treatments.

The eighth grader at Northeastern Randolph Middle School has raised about $1,000 to purchase food for the pantry at Hayworth Cancer Center, part of High Point Medical Center. And that’s just this year.

“It started in the fifth grade at Level Cross Elementary,” Adi said during an interview at NERMS. “We had a chocolate bar fund-raiser. I’ve always loved selling the most. I’m very competitive.”

Her success helped the school sell out of candy. Then in sixth grade at NERMS, Adi found that many of her customers would pay her but didn’t want the candy. She had to decide what to do with 1,200 chocolate bars.

Adi is familiar with cancer patients and the treatments they must endure. Her grandmother, Kerri Yow, had undergone treatments and other members of her family had been diagnosed with some form of the disease.

“I knew about Hayworth Cancer Center because my mom — Brandy Johnson — is a nursing manager at the hospital. We decided to donate the chocolate bars (or “smiles” as she called them) to Hayworth for the patients.”

For her efforts, Hayworth staff gave Adi a tour of the facility and she met some of the doctors. During the tour, she found that the center’s food pantry was low. 

According to Adi’s other grandmother, Georgia Sparks, many of the patients depend on the pantry for nourishment during cancer treatments. Adi started a campaign to provide Thanksgiving dinners to the families of cancer victims. Her goal was to provide meals to 20 families but, with the support of the community, that goal was exceeded.

This year, the goal was to stock a new pantry the cancer center is building with snacks and drinks and other food items. She has raised about $1,000 for groceries so the patients don’t have to worry about food while they’re fighting cancer. Some of them, according to Sparks, “often need assistance in making ends meet while battling this awful disease. Something as simple as a snack during treatment or having access to a meal without the worry of shopping means the world to these patients and their families.”

The food purchased with the funds filled the truck bed of Adi’s father, Matt Johnson. But that’s not enough for her. “Hopefully, we can get two truck beds filled,” she said. 

Her father responded by saying, “As much as you can raise, we’ll get it up there.”

“I want to do more,” said Adi, adding with a grin, “I get bored. I’m an only child.”

She texts all her friends and uses social media to spread the word. Adi has also canvassed her neighborhood to solicit for groceries or money. She credits all the help she’s received from friends, family and the school community.

When not helping cancer patients, Adi plays shortstop for the NERMS softball team and also plays travel ball. “I got my first home run recently,” she said. 

But helping people is what she feels is her purpose in life. “I talked to the patients and they said it’s a hard time. I just wanted to make them happy.

“My mom is a nurse and I’ve grown into healthcare,” Adi said. “I love being with her. I’ve talked to doctors and surgeons. I want to be a surgeon. I like neurology and trauma orthopedics.”

Brandy Johnson said, “Adi has said since she was young — 4 or 5 years old — that she was going to be a doctor, a surgeon to be exact. Her hope is to observe a surgery in the future.”

Her father added, “She’s a once in a lifetime kid. We’re very proud of her.” 

Sparks summed it up, saying about Adi, “She is a 13 year old young lady that has a heart of gold. She wants to put a smile on people’s faces and pay it forward. She feels that she has been blessed and wants to pass that blessing on to others.”