Young Columbus Crew fans raised several thousand dollars for the Jonathan Mensah Foundation, a charity devoted to the Crew defender's efforts to help orphans in his native Ghana.

When asked whether she and her friends sit in the Nordecke — the raucous Northeast corner of Mapfre Stadium generally reserved for the most vocal Columbus Crew fans — 10-year-old Kenadi Crye was emphatic in her answer.

“We don't sit,” the fifth-grader at Walnut Elementary School in Ashville said, with an air of offense and a bit of sass. “But, yes, our seats are in the Nordecke.”

Kenadi is part of a group of about 15 young female Crew supporters, known as the Hive, that rarely misses a match. They have earned a coveted spot in the first row of the general admission Nordecke section where they often lead the stands in cheers and invite other girls to join them.

Veteran fans John Lavelle and Suzi Clow have been impressed.

“They’re the loudest, most boisterous, most passionate fans,” said Lavelle, who lives on the North Side with girlfriend Clow. “Kenadi is a force — everyone knows who she is and who they are.”

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The girls who make up the Hive, all younger than 12, displayed that same enthusiasm earlier this month when they raised nearly $2,000 for the Jonathan Mensah Foundation, a charity started by the Crew defender to help orphans in his native Ghana.

Kenadi — aka Crew Bee — and her besties sold baked goods, raffle tickets for Crew merchandise and handmade bracelets during a tailgate event ahead of the April 6 match.

They also directed people to a GoFundMe campaign set up by Mensah, who said he was shocked by the girls’ initiative.

“They were like, ‘Hey, we really like what you’re doing back in Ghana … and we’d really like to help you in anyway that we can,” Mensah said. “It was just shocking and overwhelming for me. They’re little kids. Whenever they want to do something, I think they get it done.”

The funds will go toward purchasing a van to shuttle orphans to school. The foundation also helps with food, clothing and other items.

Kenadi said she was inspired to help the Crew defender’s mission after seeing a video about how the African orphans walk two hours to school daily. She already was aware of Ghana because the Hive has befriended Edward Opoku, another Crew player from the African nation who currently is on loan to a team in the USL Championship, a division II professional soccer league.

The Hive girls immediately jumped on board, especially as they learned more about the living conditions of those children.

“We’re very fortunate to live here,” said Elizabeth Hess, 10, of Commercial Point. “Talking about all of this made me want to get involved. I want to make them live their best lives and not have to do all that walking.”

They also would like to make sure those same children have the opportunity to play soccer — their shared passion. Later this summer, the Hive hopes to host a sports-equipment drive for Mensah’s foundation, Kenadi said.

“We're just a bunch of little girls,” said Lauryn Pinkerton, 10, of Carroll, “but when we started going to Crew games, we realized this was more than just soccer.”

There was a real sense of urgency to help Mensah’s cause, and the fundraiser came together in less than a week, said Jon Crye, Kenadi's dad.

“She guilted me into this,” said Crye. “She told me, ‘I want to do this for Jonathan … right now.’”

Crye didn't have to do too much, though, as Kenadi and the Hive handled most of the details. He simply put a call out on the Hive’s Twitter page — they have more than 600 followers — alerting fans to their intentions.

“When we got to the game, we couldn’t get out of our car without people handing us money,” Jon Crye said. “All the supporters groups were coming up to us while we were unloading the van.”

That, he and others said, is a testament to the impact the Hive has had on fans in the two years they have been attending games together — dressed in their trademark black-and-yellow skirts and tutus. (“Skirts are our thing,” Kenadi said.)

The girls’ efforts — and success — came as no surprise to fellow fans.

“If it was anyone else, I would’ve been surprised, but not the Hive,” Lavelle said.

“There’s just something with Kenadi and seeing the leadership she has at her age,” added Clow, who met Kenadi on her eighth birthday when the girl asked her to pound on her drum during a Crew game. “She has such a vision for what she does.”

Lavelle and Clow said that while the girls in the Hive have energized the stands, they also have reminded fans that the Crew is like

members of a family that must support one another.

“People always say they’re the future,” Lavelle said. “I say, they’re the right now.”

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@AllisonAWard