VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Shari Beasley says her daughter was “a bright light and we wanted to keep that bright light going.”
Beasley says Maylea’s 5K Fun Run/Walk, held Saturday in Virginia Beach, honoring her late daughter, is bittersweet. “It’s hard, but seeing everybody come together in honor of her makes me happy,” she explained.
Maylea Beasley, a First Colonial High School graduate, was killed during her freshman year at James Madison University. In 2020, a motorcyclist hit her while she was at a crosswalk in Harrisonburg.
Katrina Beasley, Maylea Beasley’s sister, told 13News Now, “It’s definitely not easy to have to think on what happened, but it does make my heart full knowing this many people want to come out and support my family.”
Maylea’s friend, Samantha Brophy, added, “I am just full of love and very grateful that everyone’s here, everyone loves her. It’s bittersweet.”
Beasley’s loved ones vow to keep her legacy alive through a non-profit in her honor, Maylea Purple Turtle. Shari explained, “We are here at this event to raise money for her scholarships, but also to reach out to other small nonprofits because she was huge on helping out in the community.”
Those scholarships provide $500 in funding to two girls each year: one a First Colonial High School volleyball player, and the second to a Girl Scout Gold Awardee.
Katrina Beasley says, “She was friends with everybody, she had no enemies. That’s the energy we want to bring today, and kind of the purpose of what the nonprofit is.”
For more information on Maylea Purple Turtle, you can find the non-profit on social media.
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