ROCK HILL, S.C. — For kids at York Road Elementary School in Rock Hill, walking into the “care closet” means walking out with something they need. It’s part of a mother’s journey to turn an unimaginable loss into a mission of love to help people in need.
The resource is named in honor of Debbie Harrison’s daughter Karson Whitesell. The 19-year-old was fatally shot in 2018 while working at The Peach Stand in Fort Mill.
“I committed on that first night to ensure that love and light overcame the evil that took her from this earth,” Harrison said.
That’s why she started Karson’s Kompassion Project to help vulnerable children in York County and beyond. Students can get clothes and hygiene items from care closets in York Road and Oakdale Elementary schools. The nonprofit also provides Christmas presents, teacher gifts and mentorship, all donated in Karson’s honor.
“She just noticed the things that needed to be done,” Harrison said of her daughter. “She just had a big heart and a wise old soul in a 19-year-old’s body.”
Karson’s legacy doesn’t stop locally. Before her death, she traveled to Africa on a mission trip. Now, through her work in Karson’s memory, her mom is carrying on that mission in Eswatini.
“Today, we still love on those same kids Carson met in the summer of 2017,” Harrison said. “We are their primary financial partner.”
They’re thousands of miles apart but connected by the same purpose — helping children in Karson’s name.
“She would love that, one, her name is still said, but she would love that kids’ lives are made better because of her life,” her mother said.
Learn more about the nonprofit here.
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