In honor of Jevonta L. Dickey, Shaquan Richardson and Peyton Flowers — three Lincoln County students who died in the fall of 2014 — City of Grace Church hosted a fundraiser to raise money for a scholarship in the students’ names.

The fundraiser was held at the Lipsey School gymnasium and consisted of a basketball tournament for community members to participate in as a team, Pastor Jerry Kelly of City of Grace Church said.

Kelly said the basketball tournament idea had been in the back of his mind for three years as a potential fundraiser, and when the three boys died, he decided to pull it together.

“We did it as a basketball tournament to bring young folks together,” Kelly said. “There was a delay in everything we did, due to the series of shootings last year. Bridget London (Hall) was helping organize the event, but when she was murdered, it put a damper on things. We didn’t want to risk the lives of other people with the event.”

Once the community was able to come together to organize the fundraiser, it turned out to be a success, Kelly said.

“I came up with the idea because there was so much going on around the time that the students passed,” Kelly said. “They were three outstanding young men, who were excelling in school and in sports. Due to their unexpected deaths, we wanted to do something to commemorate them. With this generation of violence, we are losing a lot of young people.”

“These three young men would have probably received scholarships academically and athletically. We wanted to celebrate their lives. The community loved them all. We wanted to remind their peers of them by giving a scholarship in their name.”

Kelly’s goal is to award two $500 scholarships to a deserving student from Loyd Star Attendance Center and Brookhaven High School by the beginning of the next school year.

“We have selected the two people who will receive the scholarship from each school,” Kelly said. “We wanted to give the scholarship to one of their high school peers that they would have graduated with.”

Kelly did not want to release the names of the recipients until the funds are completely raised for both scholarships.

“I want to let the community know that we need more help,” Kelly said. “We are really serious about this effort. We are still looking for ways to fund the scholarship.”

Community members willing to give to the scholarship fund can contact Kelly at richardsondickeyflowers@gmail.com or drop off donations at City of Grace Church on Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Street.

Dickey and Richardson, both Brookhaven High students, were killed in a car accident in Brookhaven on Oct. 14, 2014, when the vehicle they were traveling in was struck by Charles W. Acy’s 2003 Hummer.

In a somber hearing on Nov. 24, Acy pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated DUI resulting in the deaths of Dickey, 18, and Richardson, 18. Acy was sentenced to 25 years in prison with 15 years to serve followed by five years post-release supervision and five years suspended on each count. The sentences will run consecutively, totaling 30 years to serve in prison followed by 10 years of post-release supervision, and 10 years suspended. Acy was also fined $10,000 for each count.

Flowers died on Nov. 6, 2014, at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He was airlifted to Jackson on Oct. 31, 2014, during Loyd Star’s homecoming game. Flowers asked the coach to take a break and then collapsed while sitting on the bench. No information about the cause of his death was released.