Just one day after her earthside arrival, Baylee Hope Nelson was called back home to her Father in Heaven. This Sunday, Turning Pointe Dance invites its students and their families and friends to continue her legacy of love at the second-annual Baylee Hope Fun Run, set for April 21, at 2 p.m. near the Palmer Lake Trail entrance.
“Baylee was always loved,” her mother, Turning Pointe teacher Morgan Nelson said in a video published by the studio. “She was loved in utero … She was loved in our arms, and now she’s loved in the arms of Jesus.”
Presented annually at the studio’s spring recital showcase, The Baylee Hope Scholarship was created to honor the memory of Nelson’s daughter, who was born March 14, 2019, and passed away unexpectedly on March 15.
“It was terrible. We didn’t see it coming,” Nelson said in the video. “It shook us all. Later that summer, Ms. Tina (Cook) and Ms. Jennifer (Pederson) came to me with the idea of starting the Baylee Hope Scholarship in honor of her, and that was really special.”
Since it was established in the summer of 2019, the Baylee Hope Scholarship has annually awarded funds to applicants selected from Turning Pointe’s graduating seniors. In addition to donating proceeds from snacks sold at recital performances, and year-round in the studio lobby, last spring, the studio held the inaugural Baylee Hope Fun Run, which raised more than $1,000 for the scholarship fund.
“The goal of the Baylee Hope Scholarship is for the love to continue through the seniors who are going off to college, or whatever they’re pursuing after high school,” Nelson said. “To share that love to those around them.”
This year’s event hopes to surpass last year’s fundraising efforts to spur on a new generation of dancers who will share their love of Jesus with the world. Registration is $50 per family and $15 per person when you register in advance; Registration is $55 per family and $20 per person when you register on-site. Registration includes a Fun Run swag bag, and participants are encouraged to wear their best tutu to run, walk or dance the 2.2-mile distance.
To participate in the 2024 Baylee Hope Fun Run, meet us at the welcome tables near the Palmer Lake Trail entrance at 104 Oakdale Drive around 2 p.m. this Sunday. While Baylee Hope did not get the chance to become a dancer here with us, her memory will live on as she dances in Heaven through the seniors who receive her namesake scholarship each year. So grab your friends, neighbors and fellow students, purchase concessions at our upcoming studio events and recitals, or pair your running shoes with your favorite tutu and join us for this weekend’s celebration.
Click HERE to register for the 2024 Baylee Hope 2.2 (tutu) Fun Run. To make a donation to the Baylee Hope Scholarship Fund, please click HERE.