Bartow Students Support Local Families Battling Cancer

ADAIRSVILLE, GA – In October, you normally are greeted with bursts of yellow, red and orange, as summer finally transitions into fall. On Friday at Adairsville High School, you not only saw evidence of that seasonal change, but you were also greeted with a wave of bright pink, as students from five Bartow County schools converged on the football field that morning to support breast cancer awareness.

Students from the schools were decked out with custom T-shirts showing their support. Christy Ridley, a teacher at Adairsville Middle School, spearheads the annual Pink-Out event and "brings 10 years of faith, hope and love to the Adairsville community," the school system said.

Highlights from this year’s event included a memorable performance by the Adairsville Middle School Choir. There was not a dry eye in the school when those sweet voices belted out, “I will stand by you, I will help you through...I will fight your fight, I will hold you tight, and I won’t let you fall.”

More tissues were needed when every child joined together to form a pink ribbon. The awe-inspiring sight was documented on hundreds of smartphones within minutes (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app).

Cancer survivors sat on the sidelines; some were in wheelchairs, too weak to smile; others stood quietly with their unspoken stories. Those survivors, who waited until students broke formation and lined the track, took part in a victory lap, a show of strength that was met with cheers and praise from the crowd.

The students and faculty members had one message in its event held Friday in the midst of Breast Cancer Awareness Month: no one fights alone. Every penny raised from T-shirt sales as well as the Oct. 21 5K at Adairsville Middle School will go towards Bartow County families battling cancer.

Images via Bartow County School System