Cheerleaders Grant A Wish

It's been a long summer for the Midland Lee cheerleaders. They've been practicing their routines and preparing for the upcoming season, but they've also been raising money for a very special little girl.

Ashley Gandy, a 9-year-old Midland girl, suffers from a life-threatening medical condition. Thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Midland Lee cheerleaders, Ashley and her family are going on a Disney Cruise.

"My goal is to get my girls out there and to be involved in the community with charity. We do anything that the community wants us involved in...we will be out there to support them. I think it's very important to teach my girls to support others that need it," Farah Irvin, Midland Lee cheerleader coach, said.

"My daughter has been in cheer leading for 11 years competitively, and throughout those whole years...we never gave anything back to the city. [Irvin] has had us out picking up trash on the side of the road. The girls hate it, but they're there. They do it," Mark Myers, father of a cheerleader, said.

But on Saturday they did something different. They hosted Rebelfest, and made one little girls dream come true.

"We just wanted to make it an entire family community event, but most importantly we wanted to get people aware of Make-A-Wish Foundation, and that there are kids out there that need their help," Irvin said.

"Sometimes you just don't think they're in your community and they are. And those of us that are better off...nationwide the economy's not real good, but fortunately Midland's kind of in this bubble and we're all doing pretty well, and I think we need to give back for those who need it," Myers said.

Ashley and her family fly to Orlando in two weeks. They will board the Disney Wonder on September 5th, cruise to Nassau, Bahamas, then Disney's private island, Castaway Cay before coming back to Midland. We hope they have a wonderful time on that cruise.