‘A passion of love’
Olivia Scott Foundation assists families facing life-altering events
Olivia Scott was a lively junior at McGuffey High School in 2009 where she lettered in volleyball and track and achieved good grades. Suddenly, she faced a diagnosis of hepatic cellular carcinoma, a rare liver cancer – around five cases are diagnosed in the United States annually – that only affects youth. It is also incurable.
Despite the diagnosis, Olivia remained positive and courageous – two traits that left an indelible mark on her father, Marc.
“Her last full day of school was Feb. 13, and she had her senior project already turned in and approved and all that stuff,” he remembers.
“I also say that she made me a better person. I think all the kids made me a better person, but watching Olivia go through her battle, never complaining. But when you have a 17-year-old that can look at oncologist doctors and say, ‘Can’t we end it now?’ … to be that strong and everything else involved with the battle just really amazes me.”
Olivia lost her short battle with the disease that year, and her parents, Marc and Ann, established the Olivia Scott Foundation to honor her. They are this month’s recipients of the Driven By Hope Award, sponsored by Washington Auto Mall.
Each year, the Olivia Scott Foundation assists families in life-threatening or life-altering situations (such as losing a loved one or losing a home to a natural disaster) and organizations that promote sportsmanship. The Scotts started the foundation after Olivia passed for one simple reason. “How do you say thank you to people that helped you out, that you never met, never knew?” says Marc. “An example is early in Olivia’s treatments, we received a check from a family in South Franklin who we didn’t know, and they said, we are going through a similar situation. How do you say thank you to them when you don’t get an address on the check, or you know of anybody, it just shows up at your door. We were very fortunate with the McGuffey community, the work community and everything being very generous with us.”
That motivated him to want to help others in the same kind way.
“We basically operate under three areas: The first, which I call compassion giving, is to use in life-threatening, life-altering situations. So not only would we go to give a donation to the family of the student with cancer, but we also donate when there’s a death in the family, when there’s a house fire, when there’s a flood.” They’ve helped families who lose a parent who was the primary source of income and families who have lost their homes to house fires.
The foundation also sponsors six scholarship funds toward higher education, two of which are funded permanently through the Washington County Community Foundation. Over the past 16 years, the Olivia Scott Foundation has raised and donated $800,000 to the community. The group’s annual fundraisers are a mini golf outing/bar crawl and a Valentine’s Day dinner dance. Scott says they would love to have more volunteers to help with both events.
“It’s a passion of love. But also, I tell people, I get rewarded in so many different ways,” says Marc. “A student at McGuffey wasn’t going to graduate. Her mother had cancer, and she missed classes because she was taking care of her younger siblings, so she would always get to school late. And you sit down with a guidance counselor and a student, and they explain that they know of an online class she could take, that the school district would approve to allow her to graduate on time, and when you see a 17-year-old cry because you’re doing something to help her. It’s really rewarding. It fulfills your day.”
They also support organizations that promote sportsmanship, such as the Brownson House and booster clubs.
If you’d like to help the foundation with a donation or know someone who could benefit from their help, contact Marc Scott at mascott10@verizon.net or on the foundation’s Facebook page.