Volleyball Tourney Helps Mandy's Family, Closet Of Promises

Mother, wife, and Eagle Country 99.3 team member Mandy McCarty died suddenly in 2012.

Eagle Country 99.3 employee Mandy Deters McCarty died in 2012. Her family and friends hold a fundraiser each year in her memory. Photo provided.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) – It has been more than seven years since Mandy Deters McCarty, a young Dearborn County mother, died suddenly and tragically.

McCarty was an Eagle Country 99.3 employee on maternity leave when she died unexpectedly of an infection on June 24, 2012. The 28-year-old had given birth to the second daughter belonging to her and husband Michael just two weeks earlier.

Mandy loved her family, ladybugs, and volleyball. Her family and friends, including older sisters Julie Grills and Kelly Forbeck, have kept her memory alive by organizing a volleyball tournament each year since they lost their younger sibling.

“We’re keeping Mandy’s legacy going not only for her family left behind, but also to help a good person or organization,” says Julie.

The 7th Annual Mandy Deters McCarty Memorial Benefit and Sand Volleyball Tournament is going to be held Sunday, September 16. It will happen on the sand court at Willie’s Sports Café in Hidden Valley. The first game starts at 9:00 a.m., with the final game happening that evening.

Although volleyball team slots in the tournament have already filled up, spectators are still going to be welcome to Willie's. There will be a silent auction, face painting for kids, and a basket raffle.

Half of the event proceeds help Mandy and Michael’s daughters, Nora and Aubrey, by funding their college savings.

Also benefiting from the event is Closet of Promises, the charity chosen to receive the other half of the funds raised. The Dearborn County-based non-profit helps children removed from their homes by providing them and foster, adoptive, or relative families with essential items such as clothing, hygiene products, car seats, and more.

“They help a lot of people in the surrounding five counties. At a moment’s notice, a child could be pulled out of their home and have nothing on their back. Closet of Promises will provide that care, anything they may not have, when being placed in a foster home,” Julie says.

Learn more about the 7th Annual Mandy Deters McCarty Memorial Benefit and Sand Volleyball Tournament on Facebook.