CHEROKEE COUNTY, GA (CBS ATLANTA) -
A tough 9-year-old girl lost her five-year battle with a rare form of cancer, but her family continues to touch the lives of complete strangers by raising money for research through yard sales and golf tournaments.
This weekend is the fifth Cure it for Kids yard sale in Canton, but the first without 9-year-old Abigail Kelley who passed away last Monday.
Over the last few years Abigail and her family have raised an astounding $70,000 for cancer research.
"We're taking it one day at a time - our faith is what's getting us through all of this," said Abigail's great-aunt Pam Goedhart. "We're so blessed, and even though our hearts are breaking and we're so sad we lost our sweet little Abigail, Abigail is so happy."
Kelly probably touched more lives than she ever knew - she was diagnosed with juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma back in 2007. Since then, she and her family raised money for cancer research with yard sales like this one.
The tables, couches, toys and housewares at their yard sale are all donated by neighbors in the community.
"That's what Abigail would want - Abigail wants to find a cure. She kept saying she might be a flight nurse. She has such compassion for people, she loved people. And she saw things in people that maybe the rest of us don't see all the time," Goedhart said.
While Abigail can't be a part of this year's yard sale, her deep faith is her lasting legacy.
"We just feel like that when she went to be with Jesus she ran to meet him, she didn't walk to meet him, she ran," Goedhart said. "We figure she's up there keeping him running right now."
The yard sale is open again this Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Macedonia Baptist Church on Highway 20 in Cherokee County.
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