OLDHAM COUNTY, Ky. — Behind every coffee purchased at Revival Coffee Company lies a purpose and that purpose is Cass White.
“Intimidating to walk up to but once you started talking to him, very soft spoken, just a gentle, kind man. Not what you would think when you first see him,” co-owner of Revival Coffee Company, Chris Smith said.
Co-owners, Jodi and Chris Smith met White, otherwise known as the “Mammoth” working at the Oldham County Detention Center where Chris served as a captain and Cass served as a deputy. What inmates didn’t know is behind the big man, lies an even bigger heart.
“We saw that he gave back to people, he loved doing things for people, he was very kind and so with his big heart we loved him and so he just became basically family,” Jodi Smith, co-owner of Revival Coffee Company said.
Recently White has been out of work after finding out he had an autoimmune disease called Sarcoidosis, that inflames or enlarges the lungs, lymph nodes, heart, eyes and skin. For the last year, White has been on different medications and undergone several tests. But after a four-day inspection at Norton Audubon Hospital with heart specialists two weeks ago, White received the news that he needed a heart transplant. He was airlifted to the Cleveland Clinic Friday, July 1 and moved up to the top of the transplant list.
“So when you see somebody that you really care for in a position where they can’t do anything for themselves, we just start reaching out to people that we know that might help,” Jodi Smith said.
That’s when members of “Team Cass” came together to help. Since June 2, Revival Coffee has and will continue to donate 5% of all of their sales to the Cass White GoFundMe page. The La Grange Animal Hospital is also collecting donations. Revival teamed up with Gustavo’s Monday, June 27, and he donated 10% of the sales from 5 to 10 p.m. for Cass’ heart procedure, and Cass’ supervisor Kalynn Hartmann is making shirts for the community to show their support.
“It just shows that there are still good people in the world and I just absolutely love to see everyone come together and help somebody out in need who would do anything to help them out if they needed it,” Hartmann said.
So as Cass awaits the call that a heart is ready, his community continues to stand behind him.
“As big as he is, his heart is even bigger,” Chris Smith said. “He’s just a giving man, he’s always given whether it’s inside the jail assistance or outside of the jail at a function or a fundraiser or whatever the situation is, he’s always given his time to whatever needs to be done.”
Nearly $7,000 has been raised for White and his heart procedure.