The story of how the organization was started by Jim and Arlene Ragan of Beaumont is one of overcoming tragedy through helping others.
In 1996, the Ragans received the worst news that parents can ever hear. Their beloved 29-year-old daughter, Carol, had been killed by a drunk driver in the state of Washington. The emotional rubble of what must have seemed like their world collapsing around them put Arlene and Jim in a fog of denial and a painful search for answers.
“Anyone who has lost a child is the only one who knows what it’s like,” says Arlene Ragan. “We knew if we didn’t find God in our hearts, we weren’t going to get through this.”
The fog finally began to clear for the Ragans when they joined the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) program at San Gorgonio Catholic Church (now St. Kateri Tekakwitha) in Beaumont. They found the love and support that they received in the program “absolutely unbelievable,” Arlene says.
Carol Ragan is remembered by her mother as a “good Christian girl.” Carol believed that “you have to help others to help yourself.” This struck a chord with the Ragans and they looked to the city of Banning as “a logical place to start,” since it seemed a place where they could do the most immediate good.
With the help of local leaders, including long-time resident Marion Johnson and then-City Council Member Roosevelt Williams, they were able to secure the Banning Community Center as the first location for a Carol’s Kitchen, opening for service in April 1998.
They had a location, but Arlene smiles when she recalls that “we didn’t have a clue of what we were doing.” Slowly but surely they learned how to navigate the bureaucratic hoops for nonprofits, learned how to acquire the food and supplies they needed, and developed a talent for recruiting the volunteers who would staff their kitchens and prepare and serve the meals.
They even had to overcome some initial skepticism on the part of the people that they were serving. “They asked ‘Why are you doing this?’ ‘What do you want from us?’” Arlene says.
“All we wanted,” she says, “was to give our guests a warm, comfortable place to come and a healthy meal, and that felt really good for all of us.”
Ragan gives the volunteers all of the credit for developing that trust. “The volunteers give it the heart,” she says.
That heart is illustrated by Yucaipa resident Nancy Monge, a Carol’s Kitchen volunteer since 2009 and a member of the organization’s Board of Directors. When asked what keeps her motivated through the years, after a brief moment of reflection she said, “I come for the people. I come to feed the people.”
Trust and support grew in the community and by 2006 Carol’s Kitchen was hitting a good stride, serving meals at locations in Beaumont and Cabazon, as well as the original Banning location. That year would bring the Ragans another challenge, though, as Jim’s health began to fail. They realized that, for the sake of his well-being, they had to step aside from active management of Carol’s Kitchen.
Arlene says they turned over control to a management team whom they trusted would “follow our belief of an all-volunteer organization” that would serve the needs of the community “with no questions asked.”
Unfortunately, their trust was misplaced and by 2011 Carol’s Kitchen was suffering the effects of mismanagement. The Ragans even considered the option of pulling the plug on Carol’s Kitchen. They only considered that option, though. “We didn’t have the heart to shut down,” Arlene says.
The Ragans took back control in 2011. Today, with about 120 volunteers, Carol’s Kitchen serves approximately 1,200 meals a week at its three locations, the Banning Community Center, the Cabazon Community Center, and St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Church in Beaumont. Each location serves meals two times a week, which makes a total of six kitchens operating every week.
Anyone interested in learning more about Carol’s Kitchen, about volunteering, or making donations can contact the organization through its website, www.carolskitcheninc.org, or by phone at 951.769.7804. The organization also operates Carol’s Closet, which offers donated clothes, toys, and other accessories free to the needy.
Jim Ragan passed away in November 2011, but Arlene keeps her hand in the organization. “I’m in awe of how beautiful it is and it’s all because of the volunteers,” she says. “It makes me believe in the goodness of people and Christians.” It is a bittersweet satisfaction, though. “Carol’s pleased,” a misty-eyed Arlene says, “but I wish she were here.”