Veal’s death inspires heart disease fundraiser
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Prairieville Middle School eighth-grader Jodi Hill shared the story of the untimely death of her friend Shannon Veal to anyone who would listen during her school’s Hoops for Heart fundraiser.
Hill wanted her classmates to learn about heart disease and donate to the American Heart Association’s advocacy and research efforts to honor Veal, a Glen Oaks High basketball player who collapsed during a playoff game and died of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an excessive thickening of the walls of the heart.
“I was shocked when I heard the news about Shannon,” Hill said in a fundraising letter she sent to businesses and other in the community. “Her life inspired me to accomplish the unthinkable.”
Hill called her fundraiser The Drive for 25, in honor of Veal’s jersey number. The Drive collected $501.
Hill met Veal while playing youth basketball with Veal’s younger sister.
“I was always inspired to work harder because of Shannon,” Hill said in the letter. “She was always working to become better. She always told me ‘keep fight, don’t give up and never give up on your teammates.’ ”
Veal had type I diabetes, but did not let her disease stop her from playing basketball, Hill said.
Hill’s mother, Cynthia Hill, said she was proud of her daughter’s efforts to raise not only money but also awareness of heart disease and the need to support the American Heart Association.
