A charity created in memory of a courageous 24-year-old who battled cancer and lost will hold its first event on December 20.

The Fight for Life foundation was created by three of Lori Mello's closest friends; Kara Mederios, Jennifer Morris, and Lauren Mahoney.

The charity is appealing to the public to participate in the golf-a-thon scheduled for December 20 — but also to submit names of Bermudians under the age of 26 who are fighting a life threatening disease.

The three women were there every step of the way when their best-friend Lori fought non-Hodgkin lymphoma for 13 months. In just over a year she underwent eight chemotherapy and two rounds of radiation. She passed away in June 2007.

Yesterday was the first anniversary of Lori's last Christmas, because she was undergoing an aggressive chemotherapy treatment on December 25 her family and friends decided to hold Christmas early for her on November 25, 2006.

"We spent way more than normal on it," confessed one of Lori's friends.

There was an elaborate dinner, Christmas carols, even a fully decorated tree.

And perhaps the sincerest gesture of that night lies in the fact that all of Lori's friends first got flu shots, because they didn't want to burden her with any more ailments than the one she already had.

Kara said that not a day goes by when she doesn't think of her friend, and still chokes up when she discusses some of the events of last year.

"Lori fought so hard," she said. "She was so young and it was so aggressive. Her cancer was resistant to everything, but she kept fighting. That was the problem, nothing seemed to work.

"It has been very hard since she died."

The newly registered charity has given them all something to focus on.

"This way her memory will live on," Kara said. "She fought so hard and the charity will help others who are going through something similar. It will help keep her memory alive."

Fight for Life hopes to raise money to defray the cost of overseas cancer treatments, and other life-saving medical treatments, for Bermudians under the age of 26.

Lauren said they wanted to help other families, especially after they saw the outpouring of help from the community for Lori.

In just a couple of weeks Bermuda raised approximately $200,000 to help defray the medical costs of Lori's battle.

"We want this charity to help others the way Lori was helped," Lauren said. "Not everyone feels comfortable asking the public for help and we thought this charity would be able to do that for them."

Jennifer said: "We saw how the financial support of the community not only alleviated the burden of her staggering medical bills, but also motivated her and inspired her to keep fighting."

And the girls have big dreams, they hope it will turn into Bermuda's version of Make a Wish foundation. They want to help people fight against debilitating diseases, but also to provide them some comfort.

Their first event will be held on December 20, Lori's cousin Brian Morris will participate in a golf-a-thon.

This is the second golf-a-thon for Mr. Morris, who is the golf pro at Belmont Hills Golf Course. Last year he managed to knock it around 180 consecutive holes in a 24-hour stretch.

He'd hoped to raise $10,000, but probably raised four times that much, especially since one of his donors forked over $10,000 in an emphatic show of support. And the money just kept coming, Mr. Morris said.

This year Mr. Morris will be teeing off at 8 a.m. Thursday December 20 and finish at 8 a.m. Friday December 21.

People can pledge money by mailing a cheque to the foundation at 26 Harvest Lane, Hamilton CR 01 or donating online to the Bank of Bermuda account number 010-743417-001.

The women are urging people to pledge money to the golfathon. But they also want the public to help identify who money should go to.

To qualify for financial assistance an individual must be a Bermudian under 26 who has been diagnosed with a life-threatening disease.

If you want to nominate someone, e-mail fightforlifefoundation[AT]yahoo.com or call 291-5568.