Making Waves Against Cancer

The Hart family, driven by a personal connection to pediatric cancer, has mobilized Providence Day students and the community to combat the disease.

Written by Anna Maria Della Costa.

When cancer hit close to home for Sheri Hart, it was a punch to the gut. A good friend’s 6-year-old child was diagnosed with pediatric brain cancer.

Hart, a collegiate All-American swimmer at the University of Southern California, had three young children of her own and lived in Seattle, Washington, with her husband.

“It was the first time any of us spent any time in an infusion room and also the first time we learned how little money was focused on pediatric cancer research—less than 4 percent of the National Institute for Health's annual budget for cancer research funding,” says Hart, whose daughters Kelsi and Kaleigh, or KK, attend Providence Day. “Even if kids can survive their cancer diagnosis, they are subject to a lifetime of side effects from toxic treatments.”

Hart continues: “After spending a career in management consulting, always focusing on the 'burning platform,' this gave true meaning to urgency around finding a solution, or at least a better pathway.”

The path Hart and her family chose is Swim Across America, a nonprofit dedicated to raising money and awareness for cancer research, prevention, and treatment. It hosts charity swims that have raised more than $100 million since it was founded in 1987.

She was introduced to the nonprofit when she participated in the Dallas Swim Across America open water event.

“I was blown away by the event and inspired knowing we could use our sport to support a greater cause,” she says.

With her background—Hart was an Olympic Trial finalist in 1988, a semi-finalist in 1992, and has set more than 20 swim records—the family helped start a Swim Across America event in Atlanta, Georgia. They’ve brought that philanthropy spirit to Charlotte and united the Providence Day family for the cause.

“We love Swim Across America because it's family,” Hart says. “We have such a cool network of swimming alumni from Olympians to master's swimmers to club swimmers to friends and family of swimmers who join together annually to make an impact. It's truly a grassroots type of organization where no one is a stranger.”

Kesli, a sophomore, and KK, a senior, sit in a classroom space in the Academic Center on Providence Day’s campus. Their sister, Kennedy, attends Rice University and is a college ambassador for Swim Across America.

The younger sisters recently helped recruit dozens of participants—they swam, too—and raised more than $270,000 for a Swim Across America event at Camp Thunderbird in Lake Wylie, South Carolina, in October.

“It gives your life greater meaning,” Kelsi says. “It’s greater than school, greater than yourself. You’re giving back.”

Kelsi and KK got involved in 2011 while living in Seattle, Washington. Their friend Brooke was diagnosed with brain cancer. The family moved to Atlanta and started the Atlanta chapter of Swim Across America in 2013, and they have been a part of chapters in Florida and now Charlotte.

The American Cancer Society estimates there will be 1,958,310 new cancer cases in the United States by the end of 2023 and 609,820 deaths from cancer. Brooke, Hart's friend, lost her battle with cancer.

“We want to help limit the disease,” KK says. “Little footsteps at a time.”

Sheri says they were too little to understand the magnitude of what they were getting involved in early on.

“It was a great way to spend time as a family,” Hart says. “They gave speeches to their classmates, sports teams, clubs. They met countless kids undergoing treatment for cancer and got to see that what they were raising money for served a greater cause. It's something that has put us out of our comfort zone, but the older they have gotten, the easier it has become.”

When the family moved to Charlotte, they were a part of the Inaugural Junior Advisory Board, where 20 leaders from across the Charlotte swim community were chosen to represent their high schools and club teams to bring awareness and energy to Swim Across America and the Levine Cancer Institute and Levine Children's.

This board came together with the help of Providence Day Head Varsity Coach Kristina Bond; Kaleigh, KK, and a handful of other Providence Day students are part of the advisory board.

“The Providence Day student-athletes that were selected to Charlotte’s first Junior Advisory Board this summer have had a different journey in the sport of swimming as athletes, but they genuinely enjoy the sport,” Bond says. “I’m incredibly proud of them for embracing the opportunity to use their passion and love of the sport as a platform for larger community impact.”

Zetta Grace Bartee is a sophomore at Providence Day School and is on the Junior Advisory Board.

“[A] lot of people close to me have been affected by cancer, so this cause means the world to me,” she says. “To know that teenagers like myself are taking a stand and making a difference through the junior advisory board and [Swim Across America] is very cool.

“It's super special that several people from Providence Day support this cause because people close to me and in my community are helping save lives across the country. I love that I can use my sport of swimming to help improve cancer treatments and early diagnosis.”

Charlotte’s Junior Advisory Board is the newest group in Swim Across America. Both Kevin and Sheri Hart were involved—Sheri was the board’s advisor, and Kevin led the corporate sponsor efforts.

“It’s another resource to get more of the younger population involved and aware of cancer,” Kelsi says.

Tom Caruso’s emotions are visible amid the workout mats and weights. Providence Day’s strength and conditioning coach is sitting in the Mosack Athletic Center, powering his way through an interview that is both personal and uplifting.

It’s about a month after he participated in the event at Camp Thunderbird.

“I talk about it with my students - the ‘c’ word,” says Mr. Caruso about cancer. He was 35 years old the first time he was diagnosed with the disease. “This fundraiser helps us talk about it, early detection—it’s saving lives because maybe a student has someone in their life who needs to be aware.”

Not only has Caruso battled the disease, but he’s had friends who have been diagnosed, which is why he believes the Harts’ involvement and other students at Providence Day in the Swim Across America cause is so important.

“It meant a lot to be able to work on this event with people from [Providence Day] because we had strong connections already, meaning we had even better cohesiveness throughout our mission,” says Granger Bartee, a junior and member of the advisory board.