- Ogden sisters Kari and Kassie Harbath created a scholarship fund for their late mother.
- The fund honors Kim Harbath, who valued education and community service.
- Despite personal tragedies, the sisters have found healing through community and a founding a scrunchie business.
OGDEN — If you told Kari and Kassie Harbath six years ago the series of events that would lead them to fund a Weber State University scholarship today, they wouldn't have believed you.
And although there have been some major heartbreaks over the years, the sisters have become closer than ever and learned valuable lessons along the way.
The story starts with Sloan, an incredibly happy 6-year-old girl. Shortly after giving birth to Sloan in early 2019, Kari Harbath and her husband learned their newborn daughter had CHARGE syndrome, a rare condition affecting organ systems, and she was diagnosed as being both blind and deaf.
It was overwhelming and traumatic for the new parents, who were told Sloan wouldn't live.
"(My mom) shows up and she listened and she cried with us ... then she said we had to get back up, get it together and show back up for Sloan," Kari Harbath recalled.
Her mother, Kim Harbath, sewed scrunchies for all of Sloan's medical team at the hospital. Her sister, Kassie Harbath, who was living in another state for work, moved back to Ogden and learned all the medical skills necessary to care for Sloan.
As the family grew closer and connected with advocates for people with deafness and blindness, Kari Harbath began to see a future for her little girl.
"She loves herself. She loves her school. She loves our community," the young mother said. "She's an amazing little person and she's going to grow up to be an amazing adult."
A legacy of education
About six months after Sloan was born, Kim Harbath unexpectedly asphyxiated in her sleep and died.
"It was devastating, and it was something that I think we didn't think we were going to survive," Kari Harbath said.
Kim Harbath had been a staple in the Ogden community, in which she was heavily involved, including organizing an annual meal for those in need at Ogden's Marshall White Center.
Her father had been a victim of financial elder abuse, causing Kim Harbath to go back to school to help prevent that fate for others. The Harbath sisters said their mom instilled in them a drive to help others and work to make the future better.
Kim Harbath graduated from Weber State University at age 60 in 2016, with an integrated studies degree in gerontology, sociology and women's studies. She was the biggest Weber State fan, always sporting a hat, T-shirt or sweatshirt to represent the school she loved.
"She was always very supportive, very loving and also very realistic and action-oriented. It shows through in her work, her education, how she showed up in the community, but also as a mom," Kari Harbath said.
After losing their mom, the sisters were lost for a few months. Kassie Harbath and her dad moved in with Kari, Aaron and Sloan. The family grew close as they grieved together.
Kassie Harbath started sewing scrunchies on her mother's sewing machine to feel a connection to her. The sisters created Sloan's Scrunchies and began selling them at farmers markets while trying to come up with a way to honor their mother.
A friend of theirs worked in the scholarship department at Weber State University and suggested the sisters start a scholarship in their mother's name — since she was so proud of her education. So in January 2020, the Kim McCorkle-Harbath Scholarship fund* was established.
"The scholarship is an actionable, loving way to honor mom in one of her favorite things, which was her education," Kari Harbath said.
One thing after another
In June 2020, however, tragedy struck again. Kari Harbath's husband, Aaron, died by suicide. Kassie Harbath, who had moved to an apartment to not put Sloan at risk during the pandemic, quit her job to move in with her sister and help support Sloan.
"In a super tiny apartment with medically complex Sloan at the height of COVID, grieving my husband and our mom ... it was a very intense rebirth period of time where we really had to come together — it was survival mode," Kari Harbath said.
That November, Sloan went to the hospital on the brink of death after catching COVID-19. After enduring two family deaths already, the sisters couldn't bear the thought of losing Sloan, too.
"It was one thing after another after another within a year," Kari Harbath recalled. "How do you even come back from this and live again?"
Sloan, however, miraculously recovered from COVID-19.
"That was a moment where we all said, 'OK, if she's gonna keep going, we all can keep going.' It was a turning point of forward movement happening again," Kari Harbath said.
Scrunchies and a scholarship
Sloan's Scrunchies and the scholarship fund gave the sisters a chance to heal through community.
"We ended up reconnecting with those who loved mom and met people who loved her that we hadn't met before. There's been a lot of healing through community with farmers markets and events," Kari Harbath said.
A scholarship at WSU has to be funded up to $35,000 before it can become endowed and be awarded to students. In five years, the sisters have raised $22,000 — a majority of which came from selling scrunchies.
Kim Harbath was a big proponent of nontraditional students as she herself went back to school in her late 50s, so the scholarship will eventually be given to nontraditional students who demonstrate a commitment to service.
Due to her own education at WSU, Kari Harbath was able to pursue a career that supported her and Sloan. And although their mom always emphasized the importance of education, she also encouraged everyone around her to be more than just their job.
"To make money, (mom) worked at Home Depot. But nobody brought that up at her memorial service. What came up a lot was her community work and community involvement," Kari Harbath said.
The sisters keep their mother's legacy alive through giving back with community service, advocating on disability boards and getting involved politically in their area.
"Everybody has something they are going through ... but remembering you can make something out of it. We didn't want to go through this, but what can you do to then help others through a hard time?" Kassie Harbath said.
At 35 and 32 years old, Kari and Kassie Harbath continue to push forward in life, enjoying each day with each other and with Sloan as their business CEO. Although they would trade anything in the world to have their loved ones back, the sisters said they have a greater perspective of what actually matters in life.
"What actually matters, it's human connection, people, relationships, the time we have now, because you don't know how much time you have left. And Sloan has given us perspective on life: Her life is the best one we know. She's so happy, she loves her life and herself," Kari Harbath said.
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited into the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
