Zumba fundraiser for Tootie Roberts set for Sunday

A Zumba fundraiser event at North Macon Park on Sunday will celebrate the life of Ta'Shuntis "Tootie" Roberts, a 14-year-old Southwest High School freshman who was killed in December in a drive-by shooting at her home.

Fitness instructor Janice Shepard, founder of I Am Fitness Inc., will lead participants in a Zumba dance routine from 3-4 p.m. A $5 admission fee will be donated to the Mentors Project of Bibb County, which is collecting money to buy a memorial plaque for Tootie's grave, according to a news release from Shirley Ellis, one of the organizers who heads the nonprofit I Believe In Me Inc. Local 97.9 WIBB radio personality Tex James also is helping to organize the event.

Donations for the plaque also can be mailed to The Mentors Project of Bibb County, P.O. Box 13750, Macon, GA 31208.

To contact writer Laura Corley, call 744-4334 or follow her on Twitter @Lauraecor.

This story was originally published January 28, 2016 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Zumba fundraiser for Tootie Roberts set for Sunday ."