Prison Fellowship, Flikshop, and Stand Together Partner to Provide Messages of Love and Support from Friends and Family Members
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Prison Fellowship®, the nation's largest Christian nonprofit serving prisoners, former prisoners, and their families, is partnering with Flikshop and Stand Together in providing free messages and photos to thousands of incarcerated men and women from members of their friends and family. The free messages of love and support will be sent on postcards, via U.S. Mail, just in time for this upcoming Father’s Day weekend.
Flikshop™ is a photo and message service that sends postcards exclusively to incarcerated men and women in the U.S. Stand Together™ is providing funding for 20,000 individual postcards—containing messages and photos—for existing Flikshop customers and Prison Fellowship Angel Tree® caregivers and in-prison volunteers to send to their incarcerated loved ones for free.
“We constantly hear from thousands of men and women across the country about how keeping in touch with their loved ones is so critical in their personal and spiritual growth while behind bars,” said James Ackerman, President and CEO of Prison Fellowship.“That’s why this partnership with Flikshop is so important to us, especially during holidays like Father’s Day, during the COVID-19 pandemic when visitation in person isn’t possible. We also thank Stand Together for their generosity and belief in the healing power of reconciliation by way of family connections.”
“After being convicted and sentenced to eight years in an adult maximum-security system at the age of 15, life became very dark and depressing,” said Marcus Bullock, Founder and CEO of Flikshop. “When I expressed that to my mother during one visit, she made me a promise from that day forward—to write me a letter or send me a picture every day of my remaining sentence. Because of that, I was able to see the world through my mother's lens, giving me a clearer vision as to what my life would look like after prison. That simple gesture of love saved my life, literally, and that’s why I created Flikshop after serving my sentence. I want to help other incarcerated men and women stay connected with their loved ones, just the way my mother did with me.”
In the coming weeks, Prison Fellowship, Flikshop, and Stand Together will be sharing powerful stories about how the free postcards have helped to keep families connected during this challenging time.
ABOUT PRISON FELLOWSHIP
Prison Fellowship is the nation's largest outreach to prisoners, former prisoners, and their families, and a leading voice for criminal justice reform. With more than 40 years of experience helping restore men and women behind bars, Prison Fellowship advocates for federal and state criminal justice reforms that transform those responsible for crime, validate victims, and encourage communities to play a role in creating a safe, redemptive, and just society.
For interview requests, please contact Jim Forbes, Prison Fellowship's Director of Communications, at 703.554.8540 or email him at Jim_forbes@pfm.org.
ABOUT ANGEL TREE
Angel Tree, a program of Prison Fellowship, serves incarcerated parents by providing a pathway for strengthening and restoring their relationships with their children and families. Prison Fellowship mobilizes local churches and community organizations to give hundreds of thousands of children a gift, the Gospel message, and a personal message of love on behalf of their incarcerated parent. In addition, many partner churches meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of prisoners’ families through year-round ministry such as camping and mentoring.
ABOUT FLIKSHOP
Flikshop keeps families connected to their loved ones that are incarcerated in over 2,000 jails, prisons, and juvenile facilities across the U.S. The Flikshop app allows users to send photos and personal messages as real postcards directly to their loved one. Memories are designed to be shared and to keep the family connected. Flikshop makes it possible to share moments instantly, keep the family connected, and create a stronger reentry plan for every person in every facility in the country.
ABOUT STAND TOGETHER
Stand Together empowers people dedicated to helping others improve their lives. Our philanthropic community tackles some of the biggest challenges of our times, including reforming the nation’s criminal justice system, strengthening K-12 education, helping neighbors beat poverty and addiction, empowering everyone to find fulfilling work, and more. We identify, vet, and create organizations that discover innovative ways to remove barriers in education, business, communities, and government so every person can rise. We partner with these groups by offering tools and resources to dramatically increase their effectiveness and scale.