Community rallies to help local family
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on August 26, 2015 1:46 PM
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Caroline Tart, right, talks about her journey since discovering she had a heart condition at age 10. Now 24, she was recently hospitalized in Chapel Hill for nearly 90 days, during which a donor was found and she had a heart transplant. Saturday, a fundraiser was held to help with the family's medical bills.
Four years ago on a trip with her FFA classmates to the Great Wall of China, few noticed that Caroline Tart had to periodically step aside to catch her breath, the result of a heart condition she had since age 10.
On May 8, she was hospitalized in Chapel Hill, needing a heart transplant and admittedly not knowing if she ever would walk out of the hospital.
On July 14, a donor found, the operation was performed.
After nearly 90 days in the hospital, she was released with a new realization -- that she was on this journey for a reason.
"Before this new heart even got into me, there were so many prayers that already went into it," she told a packed house Saturday night at Selah Christian Church in the Grantham community.
The standing room only crowd showed up for the "Heart for Tart" fundraiser to help with medical expenses.
It produced an outpouring of support that snarled traffic for hours and continued until the last plate of barbecue was served.
They ran out of food more than once, holding up the lines of vehicles and people turning out to support the cause.
"At one point I had to ask five people to walk past the end of the crossroads to tell each car that we appreciated their support but we were out of food at the moment but expected some back within an hour. Those people jumped in and never complained," said Carolyn Carter, one of the organizers.
The generosity of spirit was evident in spite of the humid weather, long lines and any inconvenience, she said.
"A couple handed me seven tickets and asked if all the people behind them had to be served on a limited amount of food," she said. "When I replied 'yes,' they requested only two plates. I told them 'God bless you' and they simply replied, 'No, God bless y'all for what you are doing.'"
What they were doing was rallying for one of their own.
The goal had been to sell 5,000 plates. They accomplished that.
And while it is still too soon to announce exactly how much was raised from the barbecue and chicken plate sale and auction, suffice it to say it was a huge success.
"They took in over $100,000," Caroline's aunt, Dianne Tart Thornton, said Monday. "With the expenses coming out, they're hoping it's still going to be at least $90,000. That's not a definite number or anything, but I think it would be safe (to say).
"I helped them count the checks, and there were some checks from people in Virginia (and other places)."
The vast turnout depleted the provisions more than once, Mrs. Thornton said.
"We ran out of applejacks early, probably by 5 o'clock. We were out of chicken probably by 5 o'clock. The barbecue ran short," she said. "We ended up, I think anybody that came we were able to feed them, but we had no barbecue or chicken left.
"It was just amazing. We were just overwhelmed, in a great way. It was like the community, it wasn't just the community, it was people from all over Wayne County."
Miss Tart spent the bulk of the day at the event in her honor, determined to express her appreciation to friends, family and strangers who had been in her cheering section all these months.
She also paid tribute to the organ donor's family, saying she thinks about the 18-year-old every single day as she encouraged those in the packed fellowship house to consider becoming an organ donor.
"When you leave this world, don't take (your organs) with you," she said. "For my family alone, three of us have had transplants."
Another fundraiser is being planned for Miss Tart this Saturday. A volleyball tournament will be held at Rosewood High School, where she is an alum of the school and the volleyball team.
The double-elimination tournament will start at 9 a.m. and run throughout the day. Teams of six or more can enter for $60. Admission for the public is $5.
For more information, email jennifercochran @wcps.org.