PRISON FELLOWSHIP BLOG: New York

Prison Fellowship recently partnered with Hillsong NYC to bring its worship band inside Rikers Island Detention Center in New York City. The result was “amazing to see.”

'I fell in love with [volunteering] right away, because there were people in there who needed me. A chance to make a difference—that's what I've been praying for my whole life.'

  "It's not only a gift; it's a year-round ministry."

  "For two minutes, I felt free."

  Dozens of children from Harlem and the Bronx piled off a bus in Central Park for an afternoon of ice skating with Angel Tree.

Check out these stories from around the web that promote justice that restores!

Earlier this week, Insider took you behind the walls on Rikers Island to December's Prison Fellowship Academy™y graduation.

Rikers Island is the main jail complex for New York City. On average the daily population is 10,000, making Rikers one of the world's largest correctional institutions.

Earlier this week we shared the story of Michelle Payette, volunteer Angel Tree® Area Director for New York. Today we bring you a story from Veronica Huang, an Angel Tree volunteer from Michelle’s church, Grace Chapel of Clifton Park. 

The letter that arrived at Grace Chapel was unexpected. 

Michelle Payette knows what it’s like to miss your children while you’re in prison. Six years ago, she was an incarcerated mother. She was only able to see her son when her family brought him to her correctional facility for visits.

Can a Christmas gift help prevent crime?

Lieutenant Jim Quattrone, a sheriff’s deputy with 29 years of experience, believes it just might.

Jim has served communities in Chautauqua County, New York, on the coast of Lake Erie, for his entire career in uniform.