Remarkable Women: Jean’s Angels founder, Katrina Carpenter, turns her grief into helping others in need

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (WCBD) – Katrina Carpenter has dedicated nearly a decade of her life to helping disadvantaged families in the community. For her, it’s a passion she says stems from tragedy in her own life, giving her a sense of purpose once again.

“Some days, I drive down the road and I just cry and say you know, Lord, who would’ve thought my hurt would turn into this,” said Carpenter, founder of Jean’s Angels.

Carpenter’s world shifted in 2011 after her mother, Bobby Jean Smith, died, and her sister, Theresa Smith, was admitted to the hospital for a life-threatening illness.

“Three months after my mom died, I went through a divorce – so I said my kids needed me. My sister had brain surgery the next month. My life was just all over the place, and I promised God, I said if you allow me to grab my bearings, I’ll make sure women who were going through what I was going through had the help they needed,” she said.

Carpenter ultimately lost her sister and several other family members; however, she wanted to turn her grief into something positive. Her nonprofit, Jean’s Angels, was born in 2015.

She started out just serving a few residents but has transitioned into helping thousands of people by providing essential items like clothes, toiletries, and household items.

“As of right now, we don’t receive federal or state grants, so everything has been from me. I started selling dinners in my kitchen, having raffle sales, you know, doing any and everything that we could to bring in funding, and now we have people who support us,” Carpenter explained.

Carpenter said what keeps her going and motivates her to get up every day is knowing that she can provide relief to someone who is struggling.

“I have seen so many people lose their homes, so many people live in hotels, and so many people who are just living in their cars on the street. America needs love, and I wanna wake up and be that love for people,” she said.

While giving back to those in need, Carpenter is also a full-time mother of nine. She said without the support of her children, none of this would be possible.

“I’m grateful that they have the heart that I do because a lot of kids will say, you know what, you were out to lunch with these kids. What about us? But they don’t look at it like that. They look at it like that child needs something we’re already getting,” she said.

Carpenter said when you come to the facility or neighborhood events, the goal is to make everyone feel like family and to be embraced with love.

“I don’t want people to feel they have a need to come to us. This is just a Jean’s Angels cookout, and you leave with a whole bunch of items that are going to help you, and that’s our model is just to spread God’s love. If that’s all we can do, then we’re doing our job every day,” Carpenter said.

 Carpenter said the next big project at Jean’s Angels headquarters is building a warming shelter for those in need. She plans on releasing more information about the initiative in the coming months.

If you need support services, would like to volunteer, or donate to Jean’s Angels, please click here.