“Hey, why aren’t you smiling? If you smile, you’ll feel better.”
These are the uplifting words of Marquise ‘Doda’ Poole, who would greet friends and family with the phrase if they needed cheering up. In 2023, the outgoing and beloved teen lost his life in an automobile accident, forever leaving a void in the lives of those who knew him.
Today his mother, Chafony Poole, is leading the charge to keep her son’s memory alive in the name of a foundation that will assist some area high school seniors in realizing their dreams of going to college.
The non-profit foundation is called the Marquise “Doda” Poole Foundation and its purpose is to uplift and inspire, like Marquise always did, by providing scholarships to area high school seniors, giving them a chance to pursue their dreams and create a brighter future for themselves and their communities.
Since its inception, the foundation has raised funds by taking donations and selling t-shirts on its Facebook page. This Saturday, the foundation hosts the first annual ‘Doda Derby’, which will be family oriented ‘Kentucky Derby’ experience, complete with asking ‘derby-goers’ to wear their best outfits and biggest hats. The derby will offer food, picture opportunities with horses, bouncy houses, a plastic duck race, disco bingo, and acknowledgement of this year’s scholarship winners. According to Poole, the inspiration for the ‘Doda Derby’ was from her sons love of horses.
“He loved horses! He did trail rides, horse rides, he fed horses just about every day,” Poole said. “When he started driving, he was always with the horses. That was his thing, so we hope to make the ‘Doda Derby’ an annual event.”
Poole, who teaches Educator Preparation at the Newton County Career and Technical Center, added that while the derby will be a fundraising event for the foundation, they plan to do several things throughout the year for the community.
“We’ve got several things in the future that the foundation will be doing. We have been focused on taking in funds because if I had my way, we’d be giving out ten scholarships,” said Poole. “But we don’t want the foundation just to be about taking in money, we want to help the community altogether. I’m big on giving back to the community.”
The ‘Doda Derby will take place this Saturday, May 4, from 11 A.M. to 4 P.M. at the “The Elite”, located at 2710 Airport Road in Newton. Entry fee for the derby will be $25 for ages 16 and above. Children will get in free. All proceeds go to the Marquise ‘Doda’ Poole Foundation.
If you would like to purchase tickets to the ‘Doda Derby’, donate towards the cause, or keep up with the latest on the foundation, go to the their Facebook page.
