Mother honors her son through the Darrington Lovelace Memorial Scholarship and Cancer Benefit

On March 16, Linda Lovelace, along with her two daughters, Jaquita and Barongiere – hosted the 8th Annual Darrington Lovelace Memorial Scholarship and Cancer Benefit – in Albion. This fundraising event honors Linda’s late son, Darrington, who attended HFC, by awarding an annual HFC scholarship along with help for other cancer patients.

“My son Darrington attended HFC,” said Linda, of Albion. “He was a proud Hawk and loved being a student there. He worked very hard and was admitted into the PTA program after being on the waiting list for a year. During his first semester of the program, he was diagnosed with colon cancer. That news was totally unexpected; it shocked our entire family. After beginning cancer treatments, Darrington’s goal of becoming a PTA would unfortunately not come to pass. He was just too sick to return to school and complete his degree before he died in 2015.”

Taniya Stewart earns the Darrington Lovelace Memorial Scholarship

This year’s recipient of the Darrington Lovelace Memorial Scholarship is HFC student Taniya Stewart, of Westland, who was awarded $1,000. This scholarship will be used to pay for her tuition and other educational expenses.

“Winning the Darrington Lovelace Memorial Scholarship was truly one of the biggest accomplishments in my college career,” said Stewart. “When I wrote the scholarship essay, I remember being in a place of constant struggle in my life, and putting those thoughts into words was not easy. That said, I am very thankful for this award and I am grateful to Mrs. Lovelace, who has created this amazing opportunity in honor of her son Darrington’s inspiring story.”

A graduate of John Glenn High School in Westland, Stewart is enrolled in the PTA program. She will graduate from HFC in May. She plans to work for a year as a PTA before continuing her education and transferring to a 4-year university.

“I attended HFC because I heard their PTA program is amazing and they have one of the best in the state,” she said. “I chose to go into physical therapy because of my love for exercise. I knew that I wanted to help people heal by promoting healthy lifestyle choices when recovering from an injury or dealing with a progressive condition. Exercise would help me de-stress and I wanted to give that opportunity to others by developing exercises that will help them achieve their goals while giving them a coping mechanism for dealing with their stress.”

“The Darrington Lovelace Memorial Scholarship gives students like me an opportunity to further my education while instilling and promoting health lifestyles to help create long and fulfilling lives,” said Stewart. “This scholarship also promotes awareness of patients with colon cancer. While Darrington was not able to become a PTA, he was still able to impact so many lives, which is what physical therapy is all about.”

Darrington’s Gift, Inc.

In 2016, Lovelace and her daughters began the nonprofit organization called Darrington’s Gift Inc. Every March – which is Colon Cancer Awareness Month – they host a benefit dinner and fundraising event to honor Darrington’s legacy, awarding the Darrington Lovelace Memorial Scholarship to a student in HFC’s PTA program. Money is also raised to assist local cancer patients by providing gas cards to help them get to their medical appointments. More than 100 people attended this year’s event.

“Every year, we’ve raised money for scholarships to benefit PTA students in their last year of the program. We serve a delicious dinner and recognize the PTA students’ accomplishments. Several previous scholarship winners have come back every year to meet the current students who won,” said Linda. “Darrington was not able to obtain his degree and assist people requiring physical rehabilitative services. We wanted to help other students reach that same goal. This way, he is still making an impact and helping others.”

An example of strength, dignity, and resilience

Linda shared some memories about her son.

“Darrington was a good person. He was very outgoing. He loved people, he loved to laugh, he loved to sing and dance, he loved movies, and he gave you really strong, meaningful hugs,” recalled Linda. “He was very ambitious, smart, friendly, and always helped people. He was in the Boy Scouts. He was active in his church and in community theatre.”

She continued: “Losing him was extremely difficult. It was so hard watching him suffer. You expect your children to outlive you. When it’s the reverse, it’s just so painful; there’s no way to put it into words. Watching him go through cancer only brought us closer together as a family. My daughters and I banded together to make sure he had everything he needed and a lot of what he wanted. During his illness, Darrington never complained and never lashed out about how unfair it was. He faced his illness with a great deal of strength, courage, and dignity. I admired him so much for that and learned from his example.”

Darrington’s Gift has a supportive partner in the HFC Foundation

Barongiere was touched by the outpouring of community support at this year’s fundraising event.

“It was divine. It was a pleasure to host our community while recognizing the scholarship recipient Taniya Stewart and providing a meaningful event that honored Darrington and exemplified who he was,” said Barongiere. “We appreciate all of the community’s support. We’re thankful our efforts have not been in vain. His greatest wish was that he wouldn’t be forgotten. We’re making sure that doesn’t happen.”

“This is a family organization. I couldn’t do this without my two daughters. We’re still a small organization, and we’re still growing. The HFC Foundation has been a very supportive partner in this,” said Linda.

The Lovelace family is grateful for donations to benefit Darrington’s Gift, Inc. and the Darrington Lovelace Memorial Scholarship fund. If you wish to donate, contact the Lovelace family at 517-936-9402 or darringtonsgift@yahoo.com, or visit the HFC Foundation website.