Prison Fellowship

  • DONATE
    • One-Time
    • Monthly
    • Angel Tree
    • Other Ways to Give
  • GET INVOLVED
    • Volunteer
    • Subscribe
    • Angel Tree Christmas
    • Start a Fundraiser
    • Pray With Us
    • Justice Action Center
    • Share on Social
  • STORIES
    • Stories
    • Blog
    • Videos
    • The Restoration Series [Videos]
  • WHAT WE DO
    • Why Help Prisoners?
    • What We Do
    • In-Prison
      • Prison Fellowship Academy
      • In-Prison Programs
      • Hope Events
      • Inside Journal
      • Women’s Ministry
      • Create: New Beginnings
    • Angel Tree
      • Register your church or group for Angel Tree
      • Prison Fellowship Angel Tree
      • Angel Tree Christmas
      • Angel Tree Camping
      • Angel Tree Sports Camps
    • Justice Reform
      • Justice Reform
      • Second Chance Month
      • Sign the Justice Declaration
      • Get a Copy of Outrageous Justice
    • Warden Exchange
    • Church Partners
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • Preparing Prisoners for Reentry
  • RESOURCES
    • Subscribe to Our Email
    • Support for Friends and Family of Prisoners
      • Resources for Friends and Family of Prisoners
      • Coping with Incarceration
      • Resources for Prisoners
      • Resources for Children of Prisoners
      • Supporting Successful Prisoner Reentry
    • Resources for Churches and Volunteers
      • Resources for Churches and Volunteers
      • In-Prison Ministry
      • Reentry Ministry
      • Family Ministry
      • Justice Reform
      • Mentoring Ministry
    • Resources for Angel Tree Coordinators
    • Resources for Chaplains
    • Resources for D.O.C.
    • Justice Reform Resources
    • Share on Social
    • For Media Outlets
  • ABOUT US
    • Leadership
    • Chuck Colson
      • About Chuck Colson
      • The Charles Colson Hope Awards
    • Our Beliefs
    • Financials
      • Financials
      • 2022 Annual Report
    • Employment
    • Contact Us
    • In The News

Announcing the 2020 Advocate of Hope Award Winners

July 2, 2021 by Emily Andrews

Marcus Bullock and Rev. Dr. Sylvia Bullock Presented with 2020 Charles Colson Advocate of Hope Award by Prison Fellowship

Prison Fellowship® honored Marcus Bullock and his mother, Rev. Dr. Sylvia Bullock, with the 2020 Charles Colson Advocate of Hope Award on June 17.

The Charles Colson Advocate of Hope Award is bestowed annually on a person with a record of faithful and winsome advocacy for restorative criminal justice reform. The Bullocks are a family whose leadership in this area has blazed a trail toward a future of constructive prison culture and second chances.

Since 2018, Prison Fellowship has partnered with the Bullocks and Flikshop, an app founded by Marcus, to serve prisoners' families and unlock second chances.

'What if there were a simple way to use technology to send letters to your incarcerated loved ones?'

INSPIRED BY HOPE

When Marcus was incarcerated as a teen in Virginia, Sylvia sent him cards and letters daily. Such a level of encouragement and connection is rare for most people in prison. After his release, Marcus couldn't forget the impact of those daily messages from home.

What if, he thought, there were a simple way to use technology to send letters to your incarcerated loved ones?

Marcus took his idea and created the Flikshop app in 2012. He had a simple but ambitious goal: for every person in every prison or jail cell to receive mail every day.

'Every single postcard is a moment that can be cherished in a prison cell.'

HOW FLIKSHOP WORKS

Flikshop allows users take photos from their phones, Facebook, or Instagram accounts and deliver those photos directly to a loved one in prison as postcards, for as little as 79 cents each.

"Every single postcard … is a moment that can be cherished in a prison cell and experienced over and over again in that person's memory," Marcus says.

Today, Flikshop has access to more than 2,700 jails and prisons across the U.S. More than 170,000 people have sent half a million postcards through the platform. And Flikshop's impact doesn't stop there—Marcus and Sylvia, are tireless advocates for reducing recidivism nationwide.

In addition to having been the inspiration for Flikshop, Sylvia serves as a relationship manager for the company, headquartered in Washington, D.C. She is also the founding pastor of Seek His Face Ministries in Lanham, Maryland.

Every day, Flikshop is keeping families connected and raising awareness about the barriers to reentry, one postcard at a time.

ADVOCATES OF HOPE

When the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, prisons had to suspend in-prison visitation for safety reasons. Still, Flikshop made it possible for prisoners to stay in touch with loved ones on the outside.

First, as part of this effort, Flikshop launched Flikshop Angels. Flikshop Angels allows community members to easily purchase Flikshop credits on behalf of families who face continuing prison visitation closures during the pandemic. So far, Flikshop Angels have purchased more than 32,000 Flikshop credits for families with an incarcerated loved one. Marcus hopes to see that number continue to soar.

Then, Stand Together and Prison Fellowship got involved. Stand Together generously provided funding for 20,000 individual postcards to be sent—for free—by existing Flikshop customers, Prison Fellowship Angel Tree™ caregivers, and volunteers to their incarcerated loved ones.

'If we're being intentional ... then we're adequately preparing them for at least this new world that we're going to be introducing them to.'

REIMAGINING LIFE AFTER PRISON

Marcus wants to help reimagine reentry. Some 600,000 people return to their communities from incarceration every year. Marcus and Sylvia believe in connecting incarcerated populations to the world they will likely reenter one day.

"If we're being intentional about sending these bite-sized pieces of information into these facilities well before these men and women are coming home, then we're adequately preparing them for at least this new world that we're going to be introducing them to," says Marcus.

Marcus and Sylvia's tireless work made all the difference for families kept apart by incarceration and the public health crisis. Because the Bullocks strive to remember those in prison, many families across the country can experience lasting hope.

2020 ADVOCATE OF HOPE AWARD WINNERS

DID YOU ENJOY THIS ARTICLE?

Make sure you don' t miss out on any of our helpful articles and incredible transformation stories! Sign up to receive our weekly newsletter, and you' ll get great content delivered directly to your inbox.

Your privacy is safe with us. We will never sell, trade, or share your personal information.

Filed Under: Advocacy & Reentry, Families of Prisoners, Prison Fellowship News & Updates Tagged With: Advocate of Hope, COVID-19 News, Flikshop

SELECT A TOPIC

  • Advocacy & Reentry
  • Angel Tree
  • Families of Prisoners
  • Feature Stories
  • From the CEO
  • Hope Events
  • Inside Journal
  • Press Releases
  • Prison & Prisoners
  • Prison Fellowship Academy
  • Prison Fellowship International
  • Prison Fellowship News & Updates
  • Reentry
  • Second Chance Month
  • Uncategorized
  • Video
  • Warden Exchange

MOST POPULAR

Prison Fellowship Responds to Inaction on Crack Cocaine Sentencing at Close of the 117th Congress

December 20, 2022

Criminal Justice Reform Achievements

December 16, 2022

Prison Fellowship Applauds Congressional Lawmakers for Passage of Law Enforcement De-escalation Training Act

December 15, 2022

LATEST VIDEOS

WATCH ALL VIDEOS

JOIN OUR ONLINE COMMUNITY

FACEBOOK
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
YOUTUBE
LINKEDIN
PF®
PFM®

RECOMMENDED LINKS

  • Ways to Donate
  • Inspirational Stories
  • Angel Tree Program
  • Prison Fellowship Academy
  • Justice Reform

RESOURCES

  • For Families & Friends of Prisoners
  • For Churches & Angel Tree Volunteers
  • For Media Outlets

JOIN RESTORATION PARTNERS AND WITNESS GOD RESTORE LIVES

Restoration Partners give monthly to bring life-changing prison ministry programs to incarcerated men and women across the country.

 

JOIN NOW
  • CONTACT US
  • EMPLOYMENT
  • PRIVACY
  • FINANCIALS
© 2023 PRISON FELLOWSHIP®

Angel Tree®, Angel Tree Camping®, Angel Tree Sports ClinicTM, Angel Tree Sports CampsTM, and Warden Exchange® are programs of Prison Fellowship®.