CULLMAN, Ala. – The Sydni Helms Memorial Scholarship Fund recently awarded five $2,000 scholarships to well-deserving students, continuing its mission of honoring Sydni Helms Hipp’s legacy by helping students pursue their educational goals.
This year’s recipients included Troy Bailey of Curry High School, Jackson Stacks of Cordova High School, Jayden Friedrich of Vinemont High School, Callie Silva of Birmingham School of Law and Caden Capps, recipient of the scholarship awarded through the annual Sydni Helms Memorial Barrel Race.
Each recipient is selected by a committee made up of people who knew Sydni throughout different stages of her life. Committee members include former students and teachers, family friends and others who watched her grow up.
“We ask committee members to look for students who embody the spirit of Sydni and how she lived life,” shared scholarship co-founder Angie Payne. “Not to focus so much on the students’ GPA, but the picture that is painted of this individual. For example, ‘Are they living life to the fullest, do they help others every chance they get, etc.’”
Now three years in, what began as a way to honor Sydni’s memory has grown into a scholarship program impacting students across multiple communities, including Cullman.
Payne shared that the scholarship fund was established following Sydni’s passing when family friend Leanna Williams organized a barrel race to help support the Helms family. After discussing how the funds could best be used, Sydni’s parents, Loni and Danny Helms, decided to create a scholarship at Curry High School, where they and Sydni had attended school.
“We felt this would be a way to keep Sydni’s name alive by giving fellow alumni members of Curry High School a scholarship,” Payne said. “After the first barrel race, we were blown away by the outpouring of love and support not only from our home community, but from a community in Cullman that Sydni had only lived in for a short time.”
And that support has continued to grow. In just a few years, the Sydni Helms Scholarship Fund has expanded from a single award to five scholarships totaling $10,000 this year.
“Sydni was a giver at heart, one who always looked out for others who didn’t have and found a way to help them,” Payne added. “We decided this was how we would honor Sydni. We would have a barrel race each year to raise money to give scholarships to students who needed financial help to reach their goals.”
This year, for those five students, the impact of Sydni’s legacy is already being felt.
Jayden Friedrich’s mother, Shelly, shared her gratitude after learning her daughter had been selected.
“She had been stressing out about the fact that she didn’t get a big merit scholarship and will be taking out huge loans for college,” she wrote. “This means so much to us. Thank you so much, and God bless you and your family.”
Jackson Stacks’ mother, Annie, also shared her appreciation.
“Thank you so much. We can’t begin to imagine the loss your family has suffered,” she wrote. “Receiving this scholarship is truly an honor.”
One of the more unique awards this year went to Callie Silva, a student at Birmingham School of Law. After learning of Silva’s financial need through Sydni’s best friend, Emily Sullivan, the scholarship committee worked alongside Unchained Freedom Church to help provide the support necessary for Silva to complete her degree.
“Although I never had the opportunity to meet Sydni, I feel like I have come to know her through Emily and through the legacy you have created in her honor,” Silva wrote in a letter to the family. “I understand that this scholarship exists to carry forward her heart for helping others and her passion for serving her community, including her interest in the medical and first responders fields. That purpose is something I deeply respect.”
As organizers celebrate this year’s recipients, preparations are already underway for the 4th Annual Sydni Helms Memorial Barrel Race, scheduled for Nov. 7 at the Cullman County Agricultural Trade Center.
Loni Helms said her hope is to see the event continue to grow while introducing more people to Sydni’s story.
“As much as we love having it at the Cullman Ag Center, it would be amazing in some ways to outgrow it,” Helms said. “I want people to feel like they knew Sydni personally when they actually never met her. I want people to research her so when you apply for our scholarship and write that essay that we feel you knew her personally.”
Payne shared that none of the scholarships or the annual barrel race would be possible without the support of local sponsors, donors and community members who continue to invest in the program year after year.
“We want to thank our sponsors and donors from the bottom of our hearts. Without their outpouring of support, these scholarship opportunities would never be possible,” Payne said. “They allow our family to keep Sydni’s name alive and her story reaching more and more people each year.”
She added, “Each year when presenting Sydni’s scholarships in high school auditoriums across Walker and Cullman counties, we are able to tell people who Sydni was and this allows us to know she hasn’t been forgotten. She will forever live on in the hearts and minds of others, even some who never got the honor of meeting her.”
Those interested in participating in this year’s barrel race can register through SaddleBook.com. For more information about the 2026 Sydni Helms Memorial Scholarship Fund, or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities or donations, contact Angie Payne at 205-522-3409 or Loni Helms at 205-471-4691. As it’s a 501(c)(3) organization, all donations are tax-deductible.
