SPHS student finds voluntarism through country music

To say Madie Hendrix is a Martina McBride fan is an understatement of the highest order. The 16 year-old Spain Park High School junior turned 17 the last weekend in August; the occasion also presented her ninth opportunity to see McBride in concert.

“It was about three years ago I started to hear her on the radio,” Hendrix said. “ I was like, ‘....this voice is unreal.’”

Little did Hendrix know that she would one day find herself on stage with Martina McBride. It happened this past summer in Huntsville during a sound check prior to McBride’s concert. Hendrix was called on stage by McBride; the duo sang McBride’s hit song “Anyway.”

Hendrix was at the sound check as a member of “Team Martina.” This global group of highly-organized Martina McBride fans seeks to make a difference in local communities through voluntarism and fundraising for charities. For the Huntsville concert, Team Martina targeted the Covenant House in Guatemala, a safe house for girls who been have abused and/or neglected. The team raised approximately $33,000; $2,000 of that by Madie Hendrix.

Hendrix’s story proves even more remarkable when you consider she is blind. All of her volunteer work and fundraising - hours and hours - has occurred without the benefit of sight.

“I honestly don’t think of myself as having a disability. I don’t let it get in the way,” Hendrix said. “It’s an honor to help those that are less fortunate.”

As Madie Hendrix works toward her senior year at Spain Park High School, she continues her involvement with her studies, the school choir and activities outside of the school day, including voice lessons.  She vows to remain an avid Martina McBride fan - and an active volunteer.

-Submitted by Jason Gaston