Philanthropy instilled at an early age, Pat Carter still giving back at 71

Good News feature for The Commercial Appeal

January 19, 2010

Though he has sat on the boards of organizations, been inducted into halls of fame across the country and is deacon with Whitehaven’s Middle Baptist Church, Pat Carter is a man who avoids committees when it comes to getting real work done.

Case in point: Carter and a handful of friends have been feeding the homeless Downtown in Confederate Park every Labor Day for 25 years with little more than his own barbecue grill and the determination that has kept this self-made man going for most of his 71 years.

“I think we can do more (ourselves), rather than depending on an organization,” Carter said. “For years no one knew I was cooking for the homeless because I never told anyone. I do it every year because no one wants to cook for the homeless on Labor Day.”

It’s this taking of the reins that has guided Carter’s life from the age of 12, when he set up a Kool-Aid stand in the front yard of his Raleigh home, catering to the church down the street whose members would filter down for refreshment after service.

“People were laughing at me, they thought it was funny, but I had $1,200 in my savings account when I was 12,” he said … (read more)