Family turns grief into hope with inaugural blood drive

FREMONT – Seven years after losing her older sister, Sydney Folk is turning grief into action with a new community blood drive in her memory.

Taylor Kennedy Folk was 17 when she died Aug. 30, 2019, following complications from surgery to remove a previously undetected tumor.

John Folk described his late daughter as a “beautiful ray of sunshine.”

“She was just a beautiful soul with an infectious laugh that you could never forget,” he said. “She made everybody smile. When she walked in the room, you knew Taylor was there.”

During emergency medical care, blood transfusions sustained Taylor’s life long enough for her extended family to travel from Minnesota to Wisconsin to be by her side.

John said the ambulance carrying Taylor made emergency stops in Oshkosh and Milwaukee to replenish blood supplies.

“Had it not been for the blood that was available at each of these hospital stops ... it allowed our family to say the proper goodbyes,” John said. “It gave us two extra special days that the family could be there and gather.”

For Sydney, who was 12 when her sister died, those two extra days left a lasting imprint. She became a blood donor in high school, earned “Gallon Grad” status and received a scholarship from The Community Blood Center last year. Her experience as a donor eventually inspired her to create a dedicated memorial blood drive in Fremont.

“It’s been super cool and impactful to see something that I’ve been wanting to do and thinking about come to life,” Sydney said. “Seeing us be able to be part of other people’s lives in a small way is so important and powerful to me, and gives somebody else hope for more days.”

The inaugural Taylor Kennedy Folk Memorial Blood Drive will be held from 2 to 7 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Wolf River Crossing Park pavilion in Fremont, one day before the family’s seventh annual “5K 4 TK” fun run/walk.

Sydney, who is a 19-year-old University of Minnesota-Duluth student, said hearing stories from community members during the annual memorial events has brought her comfort.

“Having these events where people share memories they had with her or share about her character and personality, it helps me to even grow the picture I have of her and the memories I have with her,” Sydney said. “It helps me realize just how big of an impact she really did have.”

She hopes community members will take part by donating blood.

“It’s such a small act, but it has such a big impact on people’s lives,” Sydney said. “I’m living proof of what it did for my family.”

Donors can schedule a blood drive appointment at communityblood.org/donor using sponsor code N887 or by calling 800-280-4102.

The annual fun run is set for Sept. 26 in Wolf River Crossing Park, with check in beginning at 9 a.m. and the race starting at 11 a.m. The event supports the broader mission of the Taylor Kennedy Folk Scholarship Foundation. The family established the foundation following Taylor’s funeral, which drew more than 700 community members to the Weyauwega-Fremont High School gymnasium.

The foundation awards annual scholarships to graduating Weyauwega-Fremont student-athletes pursuing higher education. More information and online donation options are available at 4ever25strong.org.

“Taylor wanted to be a pediatric surgeon and while she didn’t get that opportunity, we’re ensuring that other people do get the opportunity to fulfill their college dreams and hopefully go on to meet their dreams,” John said.

The memorial events are a way for the community to come together in Taylor’s honor, but John said he doesn’t see them as necessary to keep her memory alive.

“People say that all the time, but Taylor’s a person that we will never forget,” he said. “We will never forget her and doing this just ensures that never happens.”