Alumna sings to raise money for cancer charity

IU alumna and Lafayette resident Ivy Jennings used to love singing for people — until someone told her she was good.

Before that point, Jennings had occupied her time with professional vocal training, a pastime that kept her busy from junior high through high school, and performing with ensembles.

After that point, she said she felt a constant pressure to perform and developed an immense fear of the stage.

She’s putting that fear aside for one night.

Jennings has been using a crowdfunding resource called Darelicious to raise money to start an organization that aims to help cancer patients and their families. If she raises the money, she has vowed to sing in public.

IU alumnus Jorge Hernandez, the CEO of Darelicious, approached Jennings months ago with his website idea. He described it as the “kickstarter for dares,” and the website’s objective is to challenge people to complete certain tasks while raising money for either themselves or a charitable organization.

“I know Ivy to be … probably the most fearless person I know,” said Hernandez.

He said he was shocked to hear about her fear of singing in public because she had always been so outgoing.

Jennings joined the movement, daring herself to sing in public for the first time in decades. For her to complete the dare, people would have to pledge money to her cause. She said she set a goal to raise $200 for an organization she’s trying to get off the ground.

“I chose to use (Darelicious) to exchange my fear for a good cause,” she said.
The cause is called Liaisons of Hope, an organization that she and her best friend, Reagan Steele, created.

The cause looks to help cancer patients around their homes, whether that means taking care of children, home-cooking meals or creating a more comfortable environment. It aims to create a “sense of healing” in homes plagued by sickness, Jennings said.

“We need people to come in and make the house look not like a hospital,” Jennings said.

Jennings is no stranger to supporting her family and friends in times of illness, and when Steele was diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer, she was no exception. Jennings was constantly visiting Steele’s home, helping out in any way she could.

Liaisons of Hope was formed during Steele’s sickness.

“When I get better,” Jennings remembers Steele saying, “we’re going to put this together and help other people.”

But Steele died in May, a week after Mother’s Day. She would have been 42 years old on June 7.

The dare to raise money on Darelicious.com was the first time Steele’s idea had manifested into something tangible, Jennings said. She sought to raise awareness through the website, and it is the first step to creating her cause.

On Sept. 11, Jenning’s goal of $200 was reached and exceeded. Now, she said, there is only one thing left to do.

“It’s terrifying,” Jennings said, speaking of her much-anticipated singing debut. She plans to go to a karaoke bar — the most low-key place she could think of — in Lafayette, but she said she knows she will be surrounded by family and friends who are eager to hear her sing for the first time in more than a decade.

Her son recently joined a musical, she said, and he inspired her to work towards her goal when he told her that if he could get up and perform, she could, too.

Jennings is going to sing “Blackbird” by the Beatles. It is the song she used to sing to Steele, a fan of the band, in the last months of her life.

Her best friend was one of the only people Jennings felt she could sing in front of, and the song choice seemed appropriate.

“I told myself that if I’m going to do this,” she said, “I’m going to feel every second of it.”

Follow reporter Anicka Slachta on Twitter @ajslachta.