SALT LAKE CITY — When tragedy hits a community, the impact sends ripples through the fabric of the lives of everyone, even those who would seem unaffected. However, when the repercussions produce a new hope and cause people from diverse backgrounds to unite for a cause of healing and empowerment, the catalyst ceases to be an unforgettable source of despair. Through the tragic death of Judge Memorial Catholic High School student Demi Candelaria in 2003 to bacterial meningitis, many people received new life through the gifts of her organs. Today, the fund her parents established with the Catholic Foundation of Utah is about to receive the support necessary for it to start providing funds for the Judge Memorial Catholic High School Female Athletics department and assist female athletes with tuition assistance. With the help of the Real Salt Lake soccer team and Kam’s Kauses, proceeds from ticket sales at Judge Memorial for the game May 20 at 7:00 p.m. between the Real Salt Lake and the Kansas City Wizards will be donated directly to the Demi Candelaria Memorial Scholarship Fund. Carmen and Demis Candelaria, Demi’s parents, established the scholarship with the CFU in 2004. The fund raising goal for the Real Salt Lake event is $20,000. "She would have been graduating in May," said Genie Herrera, Demi’s aunt. "The family is getting together with Judge Memorial and the Real Salt Lake to do this. This is our graduation gift to Demi." "The only stipulation is that if you’re going to buy a ticket, you have to buy it by May 10 at Judge Memorial Catholic High School in order for the price of that ticket to go to the scholarship," continued Herrera. "At the game, we will have drawings for gift baskets and other gifts, among them a quilt. The ladies I work for are making a quilt embroidered with Demi’s name, after the pattern ‘heavenly stars.’" Diana Keating, another of Demi’s aunts, emphasized the importance of supporting female athletics in an e-mail written to the Intermountain Catholic. "From her involvement in sports she learned commitment, the joy of winning and the lessons of losses, self discipline, and the necessity to work as a team. Our family would like to provide this same type of opportunity to other Judge Memorial Catholic High School girls in the athletics department so they can build and strengthen their skills and have the ability to learn the importance of teamwork." Carmen Candelaria remembers Demi as "having given 110 percent to everything she was interested in. Whatever she did, she tried hard for it to be perfect." "The last few years have been difficult and as we approach the year Demi would have been a senior, graduate from high school, and begin her college, career, this fund raising even has helped us to channel our emotions and grief in a way in which Demi would take pride," said Keating. "Demi was always a giving person and this event will allow her fund to be used for the first time. "Perhaps another 15-year-old girl with dreams of her own will have the opportunity to excel and learn with the help of this scholarship fund and she, like Demi, can walk through life with an attitude of ‘no worries.’ Demi knew she had the support of her family, friends, and community," Keating said. In order for the ticket proceeds to be donated to the Demi Candelaria Scholarship fund, tickets must be purchased from Judge Memorial Catholic High School by May 10. For more information, contact the Judge Memorial Catholic High School Advancement Office at (801) 521-6218.
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