Rachel Copus is a college cheerleader who has been involved in the sport since high school.

Her joy is sharing her passion for cheer with young girls.

But, she knows, for parent’s of kids of elementary school or a little older, cheer can be expensive.

That’s why she does it for free.

“It’s special, because this is something that I could not afford otherwise,” said Dori Scott, the parent of one of Copus’s students.  “It just makes me cry sometimes, because she gets to do something that she loves to do.  And, I thank her all the time that she has this program.”

Another one of the parents, Allyson  McCormick,  nominated Copus for Pay it 4Ward.

“She really has dedicated a lot of time and effort to the girls who are participating, and I can tell she really gets a joy from seeing them every day,” McCormick said. “She feeds them. She’s also provided their shirt uniforms and their bows. She’s provided the program completely for free and doesn’t expect anything from the parents. She does it all on her own time.”

Peter Ho from First Fidelity Bank supplied the $400 dollar Pay it 4Ward reward, and we surprised Copus in the Mayridge Baptist Church Gym in S.W. Oklahoma City, where she holds practice.

She burst into tears with joy when she saw us, because she has seen Pay it 4Wward on KFOR.

Copus said she has been called to do it for the kids.

“Just the joy of watching little kids learn cheerleading – something that I really enjoy,” she said. “Getting to teach them something that I really have a passion for.”

Copus also provides a devotional time after each practice, knowing the spirit needs to be fed as well as the body, Paying it 4Ward in her own special way.