Quinn Pallardy is a current Junior at Peoria Notre Dame High School and the program’s top fundraiser for Hits for the Cure last season. Her enormous heart along with her incredible work ethic shined through throughout the entire softball season. Along with awarding her a bat, we also got a chance to interview her about her experience with St. Jude and Hits for the Cure!
Can you describe your experience with raising money for Hits for the Cure? How did your family and friends influence you?
“I come from a pretty big family and raising money for St. Jude has always been something we like to do. I reached out to my family and friends and they were so supportive and thought Hits for the Cure was a great idea. They always kept up with me and encouraged me by checking how many hits I had. We would talk about it at dinner and holidays and it was something that brought us together. I think my visit to St. Jude really inspired me to work as hard as I could to raise money. It was such a good experience and I think knowing that this was all for them helped me in my journey a lot.”
Tell me about your experience visiting St. Jude!
“We were visiting on a craft day. The kids were making slime. One instance that stood out to me was when one of the little girls was a little down in the dumps before we got there. Myself and one of my former players ended up really bonding with her and helped her in making the craft. It felt great to make her smile and ended up looking like she was having the time of her life. Seeing her smile when she was having a hard time really helped and inspired me. I really hope we can go visit them again.”
How much did your team raise? If so, how does that amount affect you? In your own words, describe how you went about raising the money.
“I can’t remember the exact number, but I know the number keeps getting larger every year! I hope we can keep making that goal in the years to come. I raised the money by posting the instruction sheet we got from the charity on Facebook and introduced my followers to Hits for the Cure as well as informed them on how to donate. I got a huge response with texts and calls of family and friends wanting to donate which was amazing. If more people knew Chloe’s story, I believe more people would get involved. It was so touching and we all want to keep continuing her legacy. The PND softball program really tries to honor her and her great idea.”
What did it feel like to win a bat?
“It’s pretty awesome! I received it after the season was over, so I am ready for the next one to use it. Being able to use the new bat makes me think about how hard we worked to raise money for those kids. Every time I use it, I remember what it means to raise the funds for the charity and a great reminder of what all of those kids go through. It makes me want to work even harder to get more hits during the season!”
Hits for the Cure wants to thank Quinn and the Peoria Notre Dame Softball Program for all their hard work and dedication toward this amazing cause! Thanks again, Quinn, for letting us interview you!
