I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I’m feeling especially thankful for all of you who faithfully support our ministry, whether you just joined us or you’ve been following along for some time. Every gift, whether it’s time or treasure, makes a difference. And some of those gifts even come from people behind bars.
For example, this year, I was astonished when I saw that a $5,000 donation had come from a Michigan prison (Muskegon Correctional Facility). Incarcerated people usually have very little financial resources; they typically earn between $0.33 and $1.41 per hour for state-run industry jobs, and between $0.14 and $0.63 for “regular” non-industry jobs, according to Prison Policy Initiative
. But despite such limitations, I learned through our staff that the men participating in Prison Fellowship Grow at Muskegon Correctional Facility are always looking for ways to serve others. They held a fundraiser and raised $5,000 to help give children an Angel Tree Christmas!
I’m so humbled and encouraged by their act of generosity. These men understand the impact of a simple gift. Christmas is often a difficult, lonely time for boys and girls with a parent behind bars. Through Angel Tree, children can have a tangible reminder that their mom or dad in prison loves them, and they will know that they have a Heavenly Father who loves them too.
With Christmas right around the corner, we are aiming to give thousands of children of prisoners across the country an Angel Tree Christmas, andyou can be a part of this movement!
Every year, Angel Tree Christmas mobilizes local churches to give hundreds of thousands of children a gift, the Gospel, and a personal message of love on behalf of their incarcerated parent. I remember many holidays when my nephew was away serving his sentence. Despite the distance, his children felt so loved when they opened an Angel Tree gift from their daddy. It’s amazing how a single gift, delivered with a note written from their incarcerated parent and the love of Jesus, can have a long-lasting impact on a child.
Tomorrow we celebrate #GivingTuesday, a day of generosity that impacts countless lives for the better. You can help give hope to those impacted by incarceration this #GivingTuesday and help us build on our growing momentum—strengthening families, expanding our reach to more prisons, bringing Gospel values to our justice system, extending second chances, and helping correctional leaders reimagine prison as places of restoration. Through it all, we’re equipping the Church to engage in this important work with us.
I hope you’ll join me in praying for people in prison and their families. If you have any prayer requests to share, please let us know so we can be praying for you, too.
Thank you for joining us to seek justice, love mercy, and restore hope!
HEATHER RICE-MINUS President and CEO
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