Today the legacy of a Carlsbad woman who died at the hands of an ex-boyfriend in 2011 lives on. Friends and family of Kathy Scharbarth made a donation Monday to help children affected by domestic violence.
Kathy's Legacy Foundation has partnered with the Chadwick Center at Rady Children's Hospital to fund sports and arts programs for kids whose childhoods are on pause because of domestic violence.
Madison Scharbarth is Kathy's daughter. She was 13 when her mother was murdered.
"It was a complete shock when everything happened and you stay in shock for a really long time," said Madison Scharbarth, 17. "When you start getting out of it, you just really realize that all you want to do is be a kid and go back to normal."
Kathy's mother, Ginny Scharbarth, said she wants to provide a sense of normalcy for children who witness or experience abuse.
"They can be reminded that this doesn't define who they are. Domestic violence doesn't define their lives," Ginny Scharbarth said. "They need to be a child – have the activities that normal children do every day of their lives – and move forward."
Madison Scharbarth said she now feels like a normal teenager. She'll graduate high school next year and hopes to attend Stanford University. She said the attorneys who sought justice for her family have inspired her to pursue a law degree.
"The community came out at large to help (Madison)," Ginny Scharbarth said. "Things came to Madison to help her with hope, healing and happiness. And we wanted to pass that forward to all the other children who are not as fortunate as Madison."
A $3,000 check from Kathy's Legacy Foundation is paying to send 20 kids from the Chadwick Center to summer camps at the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club.
The center provides medical treatment and wrap-around services for kids who have been abused. The foundation plans to raise more funds for the center at a gala Oct. 3.
"I'm so excited to do this for children I'll never meet," Ginny Scharbarth said. "The Kathys I'll never know and the Madisons I'll never meet."
