NASHVILLE, Tenn. -
The founder of youth mentoring program Only Living Life in Excellence, or OLLIE, held a basketball game Sunday for a young boy battling brain cancer.
Tyreese Patnode has been through six weeks of radiation, blood transfusions, MRIs and countless rounds of chemotherapy.
OLLIE founder Tyjuan Garth said he decided to put on Sunday's event at Fisk University to help defray chemotherapy costs for the Patnode family.
"It's something I decided to do because I was doing a program out east in the Kirkpatrick Center and [Tyreese] was one of the little boys that touched my heart the most and when I heard about his story from his mother I just felt I wanted to do something to contribute to help out with the situation," Garth said.
Tyreese's mother, Ashlie Patnode, said, "I'm a single mother. I go to school at TSU. I wrote a book. I'm trying to do the best I can to get him through his chemo costs."
Patnode added she is very appreciative of everyone's efforts and for their emotional support.
To learn more about Tyreese or to donate, visit CaringBridge.org or click here.
