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Rath memorial donates $21,700

JANESVILLE — One of Hailey Rath's favorite places to go was Lutherdale Bible Camp.

Now other youth will have the same opportunity to experience the same joy Hailey did through camp scholarships that come from the Hailey Rath Memorial Event.

The Aug. 23 event raised $21,700 that will be given to two nonprofits, including Lutherdale and five Beloit area churches, said Lori Katterhenry of the Hailey Rath Memorial Committee.

Hailey was 13 when she died in an automobile accident three years ago in Newark Township. Her mother, Lisa Rath, was driving Hailey to basketball practice on a Saturday morning when the car hit a patch of black ice and a van broadsided the Rath's car where Hailey was sitting, Katterhenry said.

The family donated Hailey's organs to University Hospital, Madison.

"As of today, Hailey's gift of life has touched 59 people. Her heart is beating in a young lady in Michigan," according to a Web site dedicated to Hailey.

An annual benefit in Hailey's memory started in 2007 with a run/walk that raised $6,600. The event escalated into a music festival this year when $21,700 was raised, said Katterhenry, who graduated from Beloit Memorial High School in 1977 with Hailey's dad, Jeff Rath. Proceeds from this year's event went to the UW Health Organ Procurement Organization, $15,000; Lutherdale Bible Camp, $1,200; Luther Valley, St. Paul Lutheran, Spirit of Hope, Our Savior's Lutheran and Faith Lutheran, $1,100 each.

For more information about Hailey's memorial event, visit www.haileyrath5K.org.