TEMPLE CITY : Children Organize Fund-Raiser for Friend

When 15-year-old Jenny Barrett’s leukemia went into remission last summer, she joined the Temple City Tigersharks Summer Swim Team.

When Jenny lost her battle against the disease and died this summer, her teammates decided to suit up in a tribute to their friend.

Thirty-four children between the ages of 7 and 17 swam 1,160 laps in a swim-a-thon at the Temple City High School pool that raised more than $1,500 for the Bone Marrow Treatment Center at Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles, where Jenny had three bone marrow transplants.

The swim-a-thon was organized by Jenny’s friend and teammate, Erica Martin. Erica, 11, had initiated a prior fund-raiser for another friend, Jaiye Odujinrin, who died from a brain tumor in 1993. She raised $1,100 in Odujinrin’s name and donated it to his favorite cause, the World Wildlife Fund.