PRISON FELLOWSHIP BLOG: Families of Prisoners

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., June 18, 2012—Laura Kaeppeler has overcome some difficult obstacles on the way to becoming Miss America 2012 – including the challenges of being the child of a prison inmate. Next week in Fort Lauderdale, Prison Fellowship, the nation’s largest outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families – including Kaeppeler’s family while her father was incarcerated – will present its inaugural Angel Tree Star of Victory award to Kaeppeler in recognition of her achievements.

It would be understandable if the kids attending Prison Fellowship’s Champion Sports Camp in Pompano Beach, Florida, felt they had nothing in common with the young woman addressing them Wednesday afternoon.  She was, after all, the reigning Miss America, and most of the camp participants came from at-risk families, with at least one parent behind bars.

KCBS-TV in Los Angeles recently ran a feature story about Calicinto Ranch, a camp in southern California that caters to children of prisoners.  Calicinto Ranch is a partner camp in the Angel Tree Camping program.

The video segment features interviews with six different campers of varying ages – each of whom currently has a parent behind bars. 

Soon after I became CEO of Prison Fellowship Ministries, I met Mark Brenon. Mark is a pastor at Grace Community Church in Magnolia, Texas, and a recent graduate of the Colson Center’s Centurions program, a year-long opportunity for followers of Jesus to deepen their understanding of Christian worldview.

If Lolo Jones isn’t currently a household name, it likely will be very soon.  The 29 year-old Olympic hurdler’s combination of athletic ability, engaging personality, and good looks have made her a favorite of both track fans and the national media. 

As word of Chuck Colson’s passing spreads, a number of commentators are offering tribute to the man whose very life is a testament to God’s redeeming grace.  Here are a few shared thoughts:

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“For more than 35 years, Chuck Colson, a former prisoner himself, has had a tremendous ministry reaching into prisons and jails with the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.

After catching a touchdown to help Clemson win the 1981 National Championship, wide receiver Perry Tuttle adorned the cover of Sports Illustrated with the caption, “Orange Bowl Hero Perry Tuttle of Clemson.

You might think that would be Tuttle’s favorite memory of his greatest football game ever.

The state legislature of Wyoming is reviewing a proposal to turn an unused prison building into a nursery that will house inmates and their infant children, and will offer overnight stays for children up to six years old.

Between 2007 and 2010, 17 women were already pregnant when admitted to the prison in Wyoming Women’s Center. 

Jamais is less than four feet tall, but he can dunk on a regulation-height basketball hoop! At least, he can when he gets lifted into the air by Brandon Burrows, an inside linebacker for the University of Georgia Bulldogs, who, conveniently for Jamais, stands six-foot-three.

A recent reality show in Canada offered 10 former inmates the opportunity to start their own businesses, with the winner receiving $10,000 of start-up money from venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary.

According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation website, Redemption, Inc. offers former prisoners “tough and revealing challenges that will test, demonstrate and improve their natural abilities, and expose their character flaws, gradually moving them away from their illegal past and ever closer to a legal enterprise of their own.”

Interacting with the criminal justice system can be confusing and frightening, especially for a prisoner's child.

Since 2006, Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree program has been sponsoring a football camp for disadvantaged youth at Stanford University.  Current and former NFL players and coaches volunteer their services for the free camp, which serves boys ages 7 to 13 from northern and central California, many who have a parent behind bars.

I want to personally thank the volunteers and donors that participated in our 2011 Angel Tree Christmas program.  Because of you, almost 400,000 prisoners’ children received a gift from their incarcerated parent and great hope through the Gospel.

That’s almost 400,000 children who feel closer to their absent mom or dad, closer to a local church, and closer to Jesus Christ!

On her blog, author Ellen Painter Dollar talks about her family’s involvement in the Angel Tree program at their church, and how it has helped to shape her kids’ view of Christmas – and her view, as well:

My children talk and talk about how the kids will love their gifts.

Joe Avila, Prison Fellowship’s executive director for northern California, recently received the following lettter from Betsy Gewirz’s third-grade class at St. John’s Lutheran School in Napa, California:

Please accept our third-graders’ donation to Angel Tree Camping.  Our school held a jog-a-thon in the fall, and a portion of the funds raised by the third-graders was to go to a charity of their choice.