A Cave Spring teen with a rare cancer will benefit from a battle of the bands organized as a class project by students at Radford University.

Professor Mark Wagstaff's Recreation, Parks and Tourism 314 Workshop each semester simulates a parks and recreation department—planning, coordinating and conducting actual events, including a fundraiser.  Ben Perfater, a junior in the class, knew of 15-year-old Kendall Bayne's illness and proposed raising money to help cover her medical costs.

"I have been aware of Kendall's cancer since mid-2011," Perfater said. "Everyone in my hometown has been so helpful with her road to recovery, and I really wanted to be a part of it. As soon as Dr. Wagstaff told us we would be putting on a fundraiser, I knew this could be my way of helping."

Kendall, daughter of RU alumni Jere Bayne '89 and Andrea Bayne '91, was diagnosed last year with adrenal cortical carcinoma and underwent an 11-hour surgery in February to remove her right adrenal gland and a tumor. Her treatment is continuing.

The battle of the bands will be Thursday, Feb. 9, in Preston Auditorium from 7 to 10 p.m. Several bands from across the Roanoke and New River valleys will play 15-minute sets. Admission is $1.

Senior Sarah Davis is one of the 26 students in Wagstaff's class who is helping to organize the event. She said the teen's plight "is something that has affected a lot of people. It was such a shock. Even people here at Radford are affected by this. We can benefit Kendall and her family by doing this fundraiser."

Wagstaff, who has taught the workshop for 10 years, has worked with his students to plan benefits for a number of causes over the years, including aid to women's shelters, hurricane victims and breast cancer patients.

The Bayne family had hoped to attend the campus event, but Kendall recently had more surgery to remove tumors in her lung. Her father, Jere Bayne, said, "Please let everyone know how grateful we are, and we hope to be able to visit Radford this spring."