We had the good fortune of connecting with Katrina Carpenter and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Katrina, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Compassion, intergrity, love and a heart to serve others with a smile is just a few factors that have contributed to our success. Accepting help from someone is not easy, so most of the time our clients show up with thier head down but when they leave us they are smiling and happy.
Honesty and doing what you say you’re going to do is another factor that keeps sponsors supporting you.
Everybody’s situation is different. No individual should ever feel embarrassed or ashamed of, or afraid of being judged for, being the victim of unfortunate circumstances. Life has a way of presenting different types of adversity for different people, and no matter what you or someone close to you may be going through, Jean’s Angels is here to help get you through it. Between our annual trip to Disney or toy giveaways for underprivileged children, scholarship opportunities for any teenager going through any sort of tragic experience, care bags for senior citizens, and hot meals, showers, and clothes for the homeless, Jean’s Angels brings compassion and warmth to the lives of those who need it most.
Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Being a wife and mother of nine amazing children and having them be apart of our mission to make a diffrence in the lives of thosethat need help is amazing. Thinking outside the box and never giving up sets us apart from others. I am most proud of our mobile laundry and shower unit. Getting to where we are today wasn’t easy but keeping the faith and putting my trust in God has kept us.
I want everyone to make it a habit to be a blessing to someone everyday! The world needs more love.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There are some amazing places to visit in the Lowcountry. I would start by booking them a room at the Hilton Garden Inn in Nexton. We would have dinner at The Oak Steakhouse in Downtown Charleston. We would visit the International African American Museum, Isle of Psalm and the Aquarium.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Ms. Bobby Jean Smith was an amazing wife and mother. She was loving, caring and would help anyone in need. On August 6, 2011 I layed next to my mom as she took her last breath. Ovarian Cancer Sucks! On January 31, 2015 my dad died from heart failure.
As a young adult I lost my mom to cancer and my dad to heart failure. Losing both parents is truly an unbearable pain and very hard to deal with. In 2015, I started Jean’s Angels nonprofit to help children deal with living with a parent with a terminal illness or the loss of a parent. For the past eight years we have been a support system for our youth, senior citizens and homeless. Through all the ups and downs of the past year, one thing has remained certain: when we stand together, even the smallest actions can make a big difference. That is why Jean’s Angels mission is to make a difference in someone’s life every day!
January and March of 2020, I lost two brothers. My younger brother Rufus always wanted to work with the homeless and that’s why I started Jean’s Angels Heart for the Homeless.
Homeless individuals, as well as children of poverty, drug situations, gun violence, and domestic violence, do not have the means to fend for themselves, and could always use a helping hand. Children who have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses- or whose parents have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses- need nothing more than genuine love, care, and support.
Our team of dedicated professionals sets out to do whatever can be done to provide comfort, joy, and meaning to the lives of any individual who needs it. We believe that every single person on this earth deserves to be shown empathy, and we see it as our goal to make sure that every individual we take care of moves on with a smile on their face, and their feelings of humanity and self-worth restored.
Website: https://www.jeansangels.org/angels
Instagram: Jeans.Angels
Twitter: @JeansAngels_
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064720655151&mibextid=LQQJ4d
Image Credits
Katrina Carpenter