Special events this week honoring Corbin’s Eli Hill one year after tragic death

One year ago this week, a tragic accident at a Corbin residence took the life of young Eli Hill. Over the past 12 months, Hill’s untimely death has continued to affect the entire community, and thanks to the ongoing efforts of the Eli Hill Foundation, most of those effects have been positive.

The foundation has been a force for good in the name of Hill, who was a student at Corbin Primary School and remained active in several different local youth sports league. By awarding scholarships, making charitable donations and hosting fun events for families, the non-profit organization is ensuring that the memories of its namesake will live on for many, many years to come.

On Wednesday, March 20, a special “Popcorn for Eli” social media campaign will take place in order to honor and celebrate the life of Eli Hill.

“Popcorn was Eli’s favorite food,” explained Ashley Hill, Eli’s mother. “He had it every day, so instead of mourning we are going to celebrate his memory by asking everyone to have some as a snack and then post to their social media accounts with the hashtag ‘popcornforeli.’”

Hill also mentioned that their family’s home church, Shiner Church of Christ, will have a table set up at the Corbin Lowe’s Home Improvement store from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, providing popcorn for anyone who would like to come by, visit, and participate in the social media campaign.

Eli Hill Invitational set for Friday and Saturday

This Friday and Saturday, the Inaugural Eli Hill Invitational will be held at Corbin High School’s Don House Field. The baseball Hounds will be joined by Somerset, South Warren and Estill County for the two-day event, which will get underway with a pair of ceremonial first pitches Friday evening that will include the Hill family and the family of Drake Southerland, another Corbin youth who tragically lost his life in an accident that occurred last month.

In addition to the baseball games scheduled to take place, Saturday will also feature inflatables, face painting and a special appearance by the Easter Bunny. Special raffle items will also be up for grabs as part of a fundraiser for the Eli Hill Foundation. See the foundation’s official Facebook page or scan the QR code accompanying the print version of this story to get more information on the items being raffled.