On Feb. 5, more than 70 members of the community gathered to celebrate Hailee Conrad’s 20th birthday.

At the end of the event, 364 food items and over $520 in monetary donations had been collected. The drive was continued through March 5, and collected well over 500 additional food items.

After unexpectedly passing, Conrad is still being honored through a food drive to raise awareness for domestic violence.

A psychology major, Conrad lived in the Creative Arts LLP in Holmes Hall. She was in her second year in the program and was a sister of Alpha Omicron Pi.

Conrad was passionate about domestic violence awareness. She wanted to use her degree in psychology to help those affected by domestic violence, and her final performance in her Introduction to Dance class was dedicated to domestic violence awareness, according to Alexandra Burns, a UK senior Arts Administration major. She was a dancer and gymnast for most of her life.

“Hailee was a true ball of light. She had these bright blue eyes, a million-dollar smile, and a laugh that was infectious,” Burns said. “Whenever she entered a room, it instantly glowed a little brighter because of her.”

Conrad died on Dec. 14, 2017.

For her own closure, and in honor of Conrad, Burns decided to do something.

“I cannot control what happens in this world, but I absolutely can control how I react to it. And I always want to try to make a positive impact,” Burns said.

Burns had originally considered an event to bring awareness to Conrad’s medical complication, but given Conrad’s passion about domestic violence awareness, Burns decided to partner with a domestic violence organization.

Conrad had mentioned GreenHouse17, the organization Burns chose to honor Conrad. After seeing that Conrad followed GreenHouse17 on Instagram, Burns decided to take that as a sign and move forward with her plans.

“We decided to do a food drive because canned foods are so inexpensive that it’s something college students would be able to afford,” Burns said.

The food drive in honor of Conrad was a Creative Arts LLP sponsored event.

GreenHouse17 is an advocacy agency committed to ending intimate partner abuse in families and the community, according to its website. The organization provide counseling for those affected by domestic violence. The services include a 24-hour hotline, an emergency shelter, legal advocacy, individual and group support, medical and dental treatment, budget and credit counseling, supportive housing services and transportation assistance. Greenhouse17’s main location is in Fayette County, but they serve 17 counties in Kentucky and feed approximately 40 women and children per day.

“If a family needs their service, they make it work,” Burns said.