On Thursday, Oct. 16, Oxford High School held their annual Breast Cancer Awareness Walk, honoring OHS history teacher Sugi Wiltcher this year to recognize her strength and perseverance through her fight with breast cancer. Students showed their support by wearing pink and walking one lap around the school. The event brought together students, teachers and community members to raise awareness and show love for those affected by breast cancer.
Putting together such a big event required careful planning, and Kristin Busby stepped up to lead the way. The walk ran smoothly and was a success in Busby’s book.
“I took over the breast cancer walk when Amanda Gulledge left, so I’m just in charge of coordinating the event with the PTO and student council, making sure that we have shirts that are ordered and making sure that we reach out to local businesses if they
want to participate,” Busby said.
Outside of businesses, Students also helped raise money for Oxford’s own “OHS Warrior” by selling keychains, pins and other pink themed items.
“You can donate,” Busby said. “They did donations and sold things through the Care Club, which is sponsored by the [OHS] nurse, Ashley Ledbetter.”
To make everything come together, Busby worked closely with Margaret Neely, head of the PTO’s Breast Cancer Committee.
“I work through folks to help other parents with setup and to purchase all the supplies we need for the walk,” Neely explained.
While the PTO and Busby handled most of the organizing, they made sure the students were deeply involved. The Art Club made creative pink signs, students ran fundraisers during lunch and local businesses and parents chipped in donations. Even the principals and athletic directors helped make the event special.
“You can give credit to Beard for that,” Neely said. “She’s the one that donates. I just make sure I’ve emailed the teachers and parents who signed up to volunteer.”
Having the community and students work together for an event that affects so many families made it even more meaningful. The Oxford High School Breast Cancer Walk was not only a show of support, but also a reminder of the strength found in unity, kindness and community spirit.
“I think it’s a great way to highlight something that affects a lot of families in our community and probably in our school,” Neely
said. “There are kids here who are dealing with breast cancer through their mothers or grandmothers. It’s important for them to celebrate what their family members have overcome or to remember the ones who didn’t make it.”
