Story by The Sidekick enterprise editor Kara Hallam

Video by KCBY’s Alana Rood and Holly Swaldi

At graduation on June 5, it was not the roaring crowd or the sheer size of the University of North Texas coliseum that awed Coppell High School senior Kate Dicken. What really caught her eye was the volleyball jersey at the front of the stage with the number four on it.

It would have been the jersey of her best friend Taylor Storch, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 13 from a skiing accident.

“Her class really kept her so alive since eighth grade and they have carried her with them.  [Taylor] was so present with them and I don’t think that will end after graduation. It meant so much that they would include her to be apart of that graduation with her,” said Tara Storch, Taylor’s mother.

As the years have passed, Taylor’s friends and family have been through an incredible journey in an effort to make the most of life after this tragedy. After Taylor’s death, the Storch family founded Taylor’s Gift, an organization which spreads awareness about organ donation. The charity was inspired by the family’s decision to donate Taylor’s organs after her accident.

Her donation saved five lives.

“That was the good that came out of this.  We were able to save lives from this. We had never talked about organ donation ever in our family, but when we were faced with it, we knew it was the right thing for our family given what a giving child Taylor was,” Storch said.

Taylor’s Gift has had incredible success worldwide that the Storch’s could not have even imagined when the charity began. In just four years the foundation has soared to international heights and the Storches have shared their story with ABC’s “Good Morning America”, Ellen Degeneres and People magazine.

As much good that has come out of the charity, Taylor’s family and friends still feel the pain of Taylor’s loss.

This month, Taylor would have graduated from Coppell High School.

“[Husband and father Todd Storch] and I were dreading graduation, we knew that was a milestone. Senior year is such a milestone; it’s graduation, it’s prom, it’s applying for colleges, it’s going on senior trips,” Storch said.

Taylor’s friends and family decided to unite the senior class by honoring her legacy through patches that were sold at lunch prior to graduation that seniors could wear on their graduation gowns. The heart-shaped patches featured Taylor’s name in the middle. They were OPI’s Taylor Blue color which was inspired by her blue eyes that her loved ones consider uniquely stunning and memorable.

The patches were originally designed for Taylor’s friends who wanted to put them on their senior overalls.

They sold for $2 each and whatever money was left over from the cost of making the patches went to the Taylor’s Gift scholarship fund, which as of this year is not only just a local scholarship, but a national one as well.

“Pretty much everyone who knew her had [a patch]. I was kind of amazed to see all that blue at graduation,” CHS 2014 graduate Lindsay Stivers said.

Stivers met Taylor in sixth grade and their friendship grew while on their seventh grade volleyball team at Coppell Middle School East. After Taylor’s death, Stivers made the decision to recommit to her faith and live everyday to the fullest.

“We would have sat together at graduation because our last names and at graduation the person that would have sat next to me wasn’t there,” Stivers said. “I thought that was really cool there was an empty seat for her there, as she was still with us.”

For Stivers, there was no greater honor than getting to chance to represent her friend at graduation along with the rest of her class.

“With Taylor it was really hard knowing she would have crossed the stage right after me. But although she hasn’t lived as long she has already changed so many lives, more than we have or maybe ever will,” Stivers said.

Taylor’s spirit shined so brightly and memorably on the Coppell community that  hundreds of seniors and teachers bought the patches to support her at graduation.

“It was very comforting to see people remembering her even if they really didn’t know her they had a piece of her and they were honoring her,” Dicken said.

Dicken met Storch through volleyball in seventh grade. They became best friends and Dicken even feels like the Storches became a second family to her.

“We had a good couple of years together before she passed,” Dicken said. “It’s been awhile and it’s time for us to move on. But at the same time you don’t want to leave behind all these people and memories.”

Although attending the UNT in the fall on a full volleyball scholarship, Dicken will keep Taylor in her heart and return home often. Whenever Dicken can chose her jersey number on any sports team she tries to incorporate Taylor’s jersey number four into her choice along with her middle school jersey number five.

“What [Taylor’s friends] have been so good at is keeping Taylor in their heart and not forgetting her. They’ve let us know they haven’t forgotten her,” Storch said.

On senior night for the CHS volleyball team in October the team honored Taylor along with the graduating seniors on the team. They gave the Storches a framed honorary jersey with Taylor’s middle school jersey number four on it.

CHS Principal Mike Jasso met with the Storches to ask them how they wanted to honor Taylor during the graduation. They decided to place her volleyball jersey right by the podium of the front stage as a focal point.

“It was centered. It wasn’t something that was just mentioned once but there was a focus on her for more than just a quick second. It showed she was really important to us,” Stivers said.

It was not just the Taylor patches and jersey that were incorporated into graduation. Taylor’s memory was kept alive in several other meaningful ways.

“We were receiving tons of texts from friends saying, ‘oh my gosh her jersey’s here, the valedictorian talked about her, her names in the program,” Storch said. “It was like she was there, the kids wanted her there and they feel her there. It’s beautiful and touching for me.”