Skin glistening in the sun, and lips red from Sno Cones, hundreds of people wanting to help 18-year-old Rayna DuBose braved yesterday's heat, converging on Oakland Mills High School to walk, run, jump, dance and - most of all - to put their money where their hearts were.
"I'm here just to show support for Rayna," said Oakland Mills junior Whitney Jones, who spent her 16th birthday yesterday shooting hoops in a three-point shoot-out competition to raise money for DuBose, a 2001 graduate and former star basketball player who was a freshman at Virginia Tech this year.
DuBose has been recovering in a Virginia hospital after complications from meningococcal meningitis led to gangrene and the subsequent amputation of her hands and feet.
"You're shocked to see someone so young just get a scholarship to play at Virginia Tech and then she gets meningitis. It's real sad to see that," Whitney said. "Whatever's wrong with her, I hope she gets better."
The competition was one of many events and activities those close to DuBose had planned to raise money to help the family with medical bills and living expenses.
Yesterday's charity function - An Evening for Rayna - resembled a mini-county fair, with a walk-a-thon, cotton candy booth, face painting, bake sale and slam-dunk contest, just to name a few.
Friends of DuBose even persuaded the staff at one of Baltimore's hip-hop radio stations, WERQ-FM, to come and play former and current Oakland Mills athletes and staff members in a basketball game.
Many of DuBose's family members attended the event, including her parents, Willie and Andrea DuBose, her brother and sister-in-law, nephew and cousins. They videotaped as much of the activities as they could, to replay for Rayna.
"When I hit that fence [at the edge of the school's field] it brought tears to my eyes," said Willie, who noted that Rayna is doing well and is in good spirits. "It's unbelievable the support, the care and the concern. We knew the community cared about Rayna, but this is unbelievable."
Organizers said they would know today how close they came to their goal of raising at least $25,000. By early evening, they seemed well on their way.
The walk-a-thon - even in 90-degree weather - had garnered about $7,000, English teacher Tricia Duffy said.
A silent auction also was popular. Items such as a signed Cal Ripken Jr. T-shirt and a week at an Ocean City condominium were bringing bids from $60 to $600.
Oakland Mills students had staged collections this year during lunch periods. Nearly $2,000 was collected at track meets last month. Donations have been coming in from companies and community members since news got out about DuBose's hospitalization in early May.
Recent graduate Megan Buppert collected more than $1,300 sending out letters about DuBose in her graduation announcements.
"When I was down, she would be the one making me smile," said Buppert, who played volleyball with DuBose and sat next to her in math class. "It just broke my heart that something like this could happen to her. I really wanted to do something for her. I know it might not seem like a lot, but it's the least I can do for her. I know she would have done the same for me."
Some of DuBose's former teammates came back to donate time and money to help their old friend.
"Rayna was our baby," said Jessica Oster, 21, who played guard on the team that DuBose helped lead to a state championship.
"She was the little sister everybody looked out for," said Tasha Brooks, 20, also a former team member.