Ritchie County High School student raises money for cancer research
ELLENBORO — Travis Pickering sat in the Ritchie County High School gymnasium, a blue metal folding chair beside him with signatures of people he knew, some he didn’t know. But they had contributed at least $10 apiece to be able to write on the chair.
That $10 was part of an effort by Pickering to raise funds for the Jimmy V Cancer Foundation. He said Tuesday the initial goal of $1,000 has been surpassed with a new goal of $2,000 he hopes to reach before May graduation.
Pickering said Ritchie High School seniors are required to do a project.
“I didn’t want to make mine simple,” he said. “I wanted to do something to honor my dad.”
Pickering’s father, Randy, was 58 when he passed April 1, 2016 in Aiken, S.C.
“Dad didn’t have cancer,” he said. “Dad didn’t drink but ended up with cirrhosis of the liver. The doctors down there told him it was genetic,” he said and paused, “or hereditary, or something like that.
“He knew he had it for about 18 months before he passed. He had gone from being a really big guy to being really skinny. The picture you see him in, he weighs about 240 pounds. He lost another 110 pounds after that.”
Pickering said he and his mother, Cindy Jones, had come up with the idea during the summer as they discussed what to do for his senior project.
“We didn’t get it really organized until the football season and we had it for the last two home games,” he said. “We really wanted to get it going during basketball season.”
They made it happen.
“We just felt like everyone would know what the Jimmy V Foundation was and the work it does,” Pickering said. “The money is being collected and will be sent to the foundation at the end of the project.”
Pickering, who will run cross country at Davis & Elkins College and be an education major in the fall, stood with Cindy at the entrance to the school’s gymnasium with the chair before each home game seeking donations.
Pickering, who is a starter on the Ritchie basketball team, would head to the locker room at halftime of the junior varsity game while Cindy stayed.
Just before the start of each varsity game, Cindy walked the chair to the end of the Ritchie bench as a memorial to Travis’ father.
“No one sat in it,” she said. “Everyone honored Travis’ tribute and it was there each game for Randy.”
Cindy stated she and Randy had divorced a few years ago and she returned to West Virginia.
“We were able to stay friends,” she said. “I could ask him for help with something and he was right there with whatever he could do.”
She said money was generously donated from other schools.
“We played (Parkersburg) Catholic, Williamstown, Tyler, Frontier, Doddridge, Lincoln County, Wirt, St. Marys and Ravenswood at home and they all had people donating something,” she stated. “Kevin Jones, the Ritchie public address announcer, would announce what the chair was for and asked for a moment of silence.
“Senior night I just broke down when they announced Travis,” she said. “All I remember from that was Travis thanking Randy for raising him to be the man he was becoming.”
Cindy produced a letter from the Witucky family, whose son Austin plays for the Crusaders.
“It was really special,” she said. “Austin and Travis were side by side talking and waiting on the free throw when Austin told Travis what an awesome idea he had to honor his dad. Travis thanked him, the free throw went up and they began competing against each other again.
“I called the school to tell them about the conversation and to tell them what a fine young man Austin was. I was asked how much was needed to meet the goal, which was $150 at the time. Well, we get this letter from the family with a check for $150 from them after Austin talked about the conversation. And his grandparents sent a check to match it. Austin’s grandfather had received a double lung transplant in 2016.”
Cindy also talked about the night Randy made the call to inform her of the severity of his condition.
“He was actually consoling me,” she said. “I just remember crying and not much else. I did ask him for one thing that night and he said to name it. I asked him to write a letter to Travis so he could read it upon graduation and he said ‘you got it.’ I fully expect that letter to show up around graduation time. I think he gave that letter to someone in Aiken to mail to Travis. I just don’t know who has it but I’m sure someone has it. He was that kind of man.”