James Brown was pacing back and forth nervously waiting for the second call. It was late in the evening on May 5, 2007. He had just finished playing a show in Miami with his band, Battle!, of Gainesville. He was hoping she would be OK.
The first call came from his friend Bill in Boston. He said Kelly Wallace, Brown's ex-girlfriend, had been struck by a car while riding her bicycle without wearing a helmet. Bill said he would call Brown back to let him know what was going on.
The second call finally came. Wallace had died. Brown waited for him to say that it was just a joke, and nothing had really happened. But then reality hit. His ex-girlfriend â€" someone he had loved and cared so much about â€" was gone.
"It was like my heart stopped, and I had so many mixed emotions hit me all at once, so I didn't really know what to do," Brown said.
But during the last year, Brown and his band members decided what they wanted to do. They wanted to help.
A mutual friend of Brown and Wallace, Zack Smith, started the organization Helping Everyone Live Longer, or HELL, after both Wallace and another friend of Smith's were killed in bicycle accidents within one month of each other.
The Boston-based organization raises money and distributes free helmets to cyclists.
Smith takes collection jars to various locations around Boston, like record stores and coffee shops. With the jars, he leaves a stack of business cards with information about HELL and his phone number for those interested in learning more about the organization.
One woman who read about Wallace's accident bought about 20 helmets and donated about $2,000, Brown said.
He said the organization has grown a lot since it began almost one year ago.
"When I was up there hanging out with [Smith] in his apartment there were just stacks of helmets, almost like a warehouse," Brown said.
The organization has handed out more than 300 helmets since its start.
Brown's band plays an active role in spreading the word locally about HELL. At each of the band's shows, the merchandise table has a collection cup and
pamphlets about the organization.
"I think because we are a hardcore punk band, we are really speaking to the right people," said Riley Kenney, Battle! guitarist. "There are people who ride their bikes around who really need to get information about it."
Kenney said Brown sometimes mentions HELL during the band's sets, explaining the organization's purpose and how it has touched his life.
"You're on stage, and you have everyone's attention," Brown said. "I feel like there are so many people involved in the punk rock or hardcore scene that ride bikes or skateboard, and they don't wear helmets."
The members of Battle! enjoy helping Smith because they see how much work it is for one person. Kenney sees much potential for the organization that celebrated its one-year anniversary in May.
Andrew Walters, a guitarist in Battle!, said HELL is a very positive organization, and he enjoys representing it.
"It's the fact that it was founded on such genuine causes," Walters said.
When Brown hears someone talking about the organization or sees someone wearing a HELL T-shirt, it gives him a very positive feeling.
"I think of Kelly," he said.
Though Brown stopped riding his bicycle after Wallace's accident, he said he knows she wouldn't want that. He recently started riding again.
"I just feel like a sense that she's watching over me when I ride my bike," he said.
