RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS: POWER OF ONE

Three months after 19-year-old Traci Taylor's struggle against leukemia ended, some teen-agers who knew her and some who didn't have decided to give a benefit concert to help her parents pay off her medical bills and make Traci's last wish come true.

The May 25 concert called "A Celebration of the Power of One" will feature six talented teen-age singers who have been performing in a Mike Dumey-produced showcase at the Route 25 Banquet Hall. They came up with the idea of holding a benefit on their own. Dumey, who taught Traci years ago, loved it.

Elizabeth Hooker, a Southeast freshman, and Traci were in Dumey's choir together when they were in the seventh grade. "Traci thought the world of him," Traci's mother, Donna, says.

At Central High School, Mackenzie Price and Traci were in Student Senate together. Casie Janet didn't know Traci but knows about her.

"I read that she had done 7,000 hours of volunteer work," the Notre Dame freshman said. "That blew my mind."

Traci died in February after a 13-year fight with leukemia and the effects its treatment had on her body. During that time, she was honored with national and state awards for her work on behalf of other children who had contracted illnesses. She started the Toy Train at Southeast Missouri Hospital, which cheers up children with games, crafts and books brought around on a special cart.

Traci's parents, Donna and Pat Taylor of Cape Girardeau, learned about the concert celebration long after the plans were being made. "We thought it was a great idea," Donna said. "... She loved music."

Proceeds will go to the fund originally established to help pay for the lung transplant Traci was preparing for at the time of her death.

The Taylors certainly can use help with medical bills they expect to be paying off for the rest of their own lives. But they also want to fund Traci's wish, expressed to them in her last hours, that they spread the Toy Train program to other hospitals.

At the concert, the Taylors will be presented with a plaque in Traci's honor to be mounted in the pediatrics wing at Southeast Missouri Hospital.

Two-thirds of the 208 tickets for the concert already have been purchased, most of them by businesses buying tables of 12. Bill Heaton, owner of the Route 25 Banquet Hall, is donating use of the hall and the labor involved.

Tickets for the 6:30 p.m. buffet dinner and two-hour show are $20 and can be reserved by calling Dumey at 334-7602.

Dumey is serving as chairman of the benefit concert and also will perform the first number. The other student singers are Matt Brandt, Ben Carter and Casey Mueller. All three are students at Central High School.

They will sing different kinds of medleys -- movie, Broadway, rock 'n' roll, country and gospel. Those in the audience should recognize the singers. They"ll be serving the drinks before the show begins.

The students said they wanted to do something for the parents of such a special person.

"We've been given talents and an opportunity," Brandt said. "Why not use it for a really good cause?"