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NEWS FROM THE KITCHEN

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For He's a Jolly-Good Fellow

Volunteer Marc Serra Shows Exceptional Generosity Toward Carol's Kitchen

Above: Serra (center) donates $2,500 to Carol's Kitchen. He is pictured with Executive Director Jim McConnell and Cabazon Kitchen Manager Jackie Sumners in front of the refrigerator and freezer Serra donated to the James A. Venable Community Center in Cabazon.

This month, Carol's Kitchen launches its "News from the Kitchen" series, where we talk about the work of our volunteers and other happenings at each of our kitchens. Our very first article features Cabazon volunteer Marc Serra.

Since moving to Banning in 2000, Serra has shown tremendous support for Carol's Kitchen, not only as a dedicated volunteer but also as a donor.

The same day Carol's Kitchen received a $5,000 grant donation from Sempra Energy Foundation, Serra arrived quietly and unassumingly with his own donation—in the amount of $2,500. While Serra's donation came as a surprise to the Cabazon volunteers and Executive Director Jim McConnell, this was not unusual considering the dedicated volunteer's past donations. Serra once contributed $10,000 to Carol's Kitchen and even purchased an industrial refrigerator and industrial freezer for the James A. Venable Community Center in Cabazon.

Serra Meets Jim McConnell

Serra started working at Carol's Kitchen five years ago. In his first meeting with McConnell, Serra was instantly taken with the group's mission. To this day, he remains as passionate as ever when it comes to helping those in need.

"I get personal satisfaction from feeding the people who come in," Serra says. "It's for a good cause, especially now when times are hard. The people who come in are fortunate to get good food."

Serra has plenty of good things to say about his fellow volunteers. He appreciates how they love what they do and feel like they get more out of it than what they put into it. He makes it a point to pay special tribute to kitchen manager Jackie Sumners, "Jackie is a very pleasant person and everybody loves her," he says.

Serra usually helps in the kitchen, supporting the cooks by chopping onions or doing "whatever they ask him to do." Long before he started volunteering at Carol's Kitchen, Serra worked in food service. Born in Italy, Serra was only two years old when his family migrated to Pennsylvania. While growing up, his father owned a restaurant, where Serra worked at a young age. While in college, he also waited tables. When Serra got a little older, he joined the service and worked as a radio operator in San Bernardino. That was when he fell in love with California. Serra eventually moved with his mother to the Golden State.

Now 88-years old, Serra loves his home in Banning, where he has lived since 2000. Before moving to the stagecoach town, Serra lived in Costa Mesa. In addition to his work at Carol's Kitchen, Serra says he stays young and energetic through household chores.

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