Hundreds of friends and neighbors turned out Thursday night for a benefit for Kelly Whitten, granddaughter of Tom and Bennie Harter of the Village of Poinciana.
Seven-year-old Kelly had a kidney and liver transplant last year. She suffered septic shock and lost sight in both her eyes. Surgery in January restored sight in one of her eyes.
Suzanne Humberstone of the Village of Gilchrist sold four tables for the event luring her “Heinz 57” neighbors from Gilchrist and her pickleball friends to the benefit.
“I had to do what I could to help. They are just a young couple struggling every day,” Humberstone said of the little girl’s parents.
Kelly lives in St. Petersburg with her mother and father, Stewart and Connie, and her brother, Kai, 11. In addition to her grandparents, Kelly’s great-grandmother Gerry Nickels and two great aunts, Patricia Stephens and Cecilia “Ce Ce” Means, all live in The Villages.
“I wish I could get out on that dance floor,” the 87-year-old great-grandmother said, admitting that her dancing days are behind her.
The event venue, American Legion Post 347, was packed with Villagers as the Sixties Band played memorable tunes that had everyone out on the dance floor.
Proceeds from the event will go to HelpHopeLive, a nonprofit organization, and the Southeast kidney/liver transplant fund that will help cover Kelly’s uninsured medical expenses.
Bennie Harter said she was moved by the outpouring of support from so many that evening.
