Care's Coasters
"Do what you can, when you can, because you can!" ~Caroline Harsant Whitley
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Available at The Pilgrim Gifts 160 Westwood Shopping Center Fayetteville, NC  910-867-9750
Order online at www.thepilgrimgifts.com

or order directly from Laura on the Order/ Contact tab.​

What are Care's Coasters? 
Care's Coasters are decorative stone and absorbent tiles which feature quotes and artwork that reflect Caroline’s personality and spirit. Proceeds go to various charities in our community in her memory. Each year in honor of their birthday, December 25, Laura creates a new Care's Coaster quote. Laura decorates each decorative tile by hand. She has decorated thousands of Care's Coasters by hand over the years. Each tile is unique. Design details vary.



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No matter how creative you get, doing for others is the most amazing legacy. 
​~Mitch Albom

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​Special Editions created for:  ​
  • Camp Sunshine: http://www.mycampsunshine.com/ (Decatur, GA) A ray of hope for children with cancer
  • Duke Raleigh Hospital Ceremony of Remembrance (Raleigh, NC)
  • Fayetteville Area Youth for Christ (Fayetteville, NC)
  • The Fayetteville-Lafayette Rotary Club (Fayetteville, NC)
  • Jarred Bryan Sparks Foundation (Fayetteville, NC)
  • Kindness4Kate kindness4kate.org/ (Richmond, VA) nonprofit in memory of Kate Childrey- encourages people to become kinder, more compassionate individuals, in mind, body and spirit... also raises money for “Kind Acts Touch Everyone” benches that will be given each year to selected schools...  buddy/friendship benches….a place where children who are lonely or in need of a friend on the playground can go sit, so that another student can reach out an inclusive hand in kindness. 
  • Kiwanis Club (Fayetteville, NC)
  • Mighty Maddox Fundraiser (Fayetteville, NC)
  • Sons and Daughters (Concord, NC)

In addition to The Pilgrim Gifts, Care's Coasters have been sold at these other locations: 

  • CURRENT: Angels Among Us 5K and Family Fun Walk:  Celebrating HOPE in the Fight Against Brain Cancer- Marketplace area (Durham, NC)
  • CURRENT: Cape Fear Valley Cancer Treatment and CyberKnife Center
  • CURRENT: The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center Gift Shop, Duke University Medical Center (Durham, NC)
  • Duke Children's Hospital Gift Shop and Duke North Gift Shop (Durham, NC)
  • KD Morris Art Gallery & Wine Shop
  • Lisa's Framing (Fayetteville, NC)

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"That you and I in hand as we e'en do in heart, might ramble away as children, among the woods and fields, and forget the many years, and these sorrowing cares, and each become a child again." ~Emily Dickinson...Caroline and me at age 10

Fayetteville Observer article:  Nov. 28, 2011:

Hasty: Art project helps twin deal with sister's death from cancer 
by: Kim Hasty

Caroline Harsant Whitley was known for the encouraging adages that inspired her sunny outlook on life. Even in her battle with brain cancer, Whitley remained unflinchingly optimistic.  "Do what you can, when you can, because you can.'' Armed with those little bits of cheer - along with some simple ceramic tiles and paint pens - Laura Harsant Reeves is working her way through the debilitating grief of her twin sister's death.  She calls her creations CARE's Coasters, in honor of both her sister and one of her sister's favorite causes, The CARE Clinic. Whitley served as secretary for The CARE Clinic, which helps people who otherwise couldn't afford medical and dental care.  There are so many positive things happening because of those little tiles that it's amazing to think so much good can come from simple little works of art.  "She was always my best friend and she was always there, and now that she's gone, I just feel kind of lost,'' Reeves said.  "But I feel like by doing this, she's there for me, even after her death.  This makes me feel like I'm doing something,'' she said. "We couldn't save her, which is what I wanted to do. This is helping not just the people at The CARE Clinic, but it's helping me to deal with her death and with her being gone.'  'Whitley died in September.  She was 29.  Reeves and their mother, Pam Harsant, spoke about Caroline's courage at her memorial service.  Longtime family friend Joan Poole listened as they talked about the little messages Whitley liked to collect on refrigerator magnets, framed prints and bookmarks.  Poole, who owns The Pilgrim Gift Shop in Westwood Shopping Center, had the idea that Reeves could paint her sister's favorite messages and Bible verses onto ceramic tiles.  "I think Joan knew that it would help me to do something and keep my mind occupied,'' Reeves said.  "It's kind of therapeutic.''Poole purchased the tiles and created a sales display for them inside The Pilgrim. Reeves, an art teacher at Eastover-Central Elementary School, supplies the creative flair.  The messages?  They come from many sources.  Grady McKeithan relayed one of them while standing in line at the visitation.  "Butterflies measure their lives in moments, not years.''  Another came from a bracelet that Whitley wore every day:  "With God all things are possible.''  Another came from a message Caroline jotted in her journal when she was 17.  "If you love your God and you love yourself, you can never be wrong.''  Every cent made on the tiles will go to The CARE Clinic.  Large tiles sale for $5.95.  Smaller ones sell for $3.95.  Already, Reeves and Poole have raised nearly $1,000 for The CARE Clinic.  
"i carry your heart. (i carry it in my heart.)'' - E.E. Cummings.  For now, there are 29 different quotes and verses.  Reeves plans to add a new one every year in honor of her sister's Christmas Day birthday, the celebration they shared for 29 birthdays.  The 30th quote for this year, the first birthday she will celebrate without her sister, was easy to select.  It is from Philippians 1:3:  "I thank my God every time I remember you.''


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