Sent With Hope

In my first post, I said this blog would at times reflect my quest to manage a non-profit. Here's some reflection...

Helping people has long been a passion of mine. I actually like to do it. This is one of the top reasons I became a teacher. Every day, I help young people in many ways. It is equally satisfying to open a frantic student's locker, as it is to teach a new concept.

Until my life was catapulted in a different direction, I had never given much thought to non-profits. They were there, I knew about them and admired them, but never considering having one of my own.

After that fateful May day, I knew I needed help. Where does one turn for help in the twenty-first century? That's right... Google. I googled and googled and googled. Search after search came up empty. There was nothing of substance to help either myself nor my children. It completely frustrated me, but I put it aside and focused on helping myself.

Over the next few months, I talked with many people. They hugged me and helped me and supported me. Through the power of Facebook, I connected with an old friend from junior high. Her life's mission was to help people. She reached out through non-profit work. In fact, she runs a very successful non-profit. Talking to her made the cranks in my head start churning. Why couldn't I start and maintain a non-profit?

So, it was back to Google I went. I read countless articles about launching non-profits, managing non-profits, and read about people who'd done it successfully. I read so much it hurt my eyes.

Then, I said it aloud, I was going to have a non-profit. And, remember, if I say it aloud, I am going to do it.

After nearly a year of thinking and organizing and deciding and researching, I have a definite plan.

My desire is to help mothers, fathers, and most importantly children who are in a similar situation as we are. On any given day, there are two million American children with one, sometimes two, parents in prison. They have an alarmingly high rate of becoming a criminal offender themselves. These children are all but forgotten by support groups, non-profits... society.

Our non-profit, as it is mine and my children's, is Sent With Hope. Our mission is to provide a connection for families with a loved one in prison. We will provide donations of books, games, and puzzles to correctional facilities and hopefully in the future, help young people write letters to their loved ones.

Children with a parent in prison travel long distances to visit their parent for only a few hours. Many prisons have restrictions on how often they can visit. Once there, most prisons are not "kid friendly". There is often nothing or very little in the visitation rooms to make their visit more pleasant.

My idea came about the first time I visited a correctional facility. The entire experience was... for lack of a better word... institutional. As I sat there, I could not imagine how children could "thrive" in such a setting.With nothing to "entertain" them, how did families manage to pass four hours with little children? How did they have a bonding experience? Then, I thought about the vast amounts of books, games, and puzzles I had sitting at home, not being used anymore, and wondered why those things couldn't come here.

My own childhood had been filled with nights around the table playing games, or coloring an afternoon away, or spending time working complex puzzles. My children loved to do these things, and every time they did, it was quality time spent with them. I thought that these things could help families have quality time, albeit inside such a institutional place.

I went home and contacted several prisons to see if they would accept a donation of books, puzzles, and games for their visitation room. Many gladly accepted the donations. I called on family and friends to clean out their homes, and instead of passing things along to Goodwill, to pass it along to me. My garage quickly filled with books, puzzles, games, crayons, and coloring books. They told their friends, and I received more donations.

My children helped me load boxes and take them to the USPO. We sent approximately six boxes, and it got too expensive for me to do it alone. So, I stopped for awhile and really thought more about making this a legit non-profit.I knew I wanted to do it, but I began having doubts that I could... and that it would even matter.

We visited the correctional facilities many times since then. We watched many families playing with our donations. We saw children snuggling with their daddies, reading books together. We saw parents helping children fit puzzle pieces together. We saw children coloring pictures for their daddies. Most of all, we saw families gathered around tables, simply being families. We saw families forgetting they were inside a prison. These images told me it mattered, but on the other end of this is the institution. And, if they didn't appreciate all of this, where would that leave the non-profit?

Two days ago, my plan was solidified. At the end of our visit, a guard told me the warden wanted to speak with me. Immediately my stomach sank and I asked if I was in trouble. She chuckled and said she didn't think so. We were led down a long hallway to the warden's office. I explained it to my children as though we were going to the principal's office. Their Gramma is a principal, so they could make the connection. Had the children misbehaved? Did I make a guard upset? Had we taken too long in the bathroom? There are so many rules in prison, I couldn't imagine what one we'd broken.

Stepping into the warden's office was like stepping into an entirely different building. For one, it was very colorful. The walls were painted a deep cranberry color, which was such a contrast to the institutional gray colored walls outside his office. There were photographs everywhere and a large comfortable couch along one wall.

The warden stood up behind his desk and in a very soft drawl greeted us. He told me he was very happy to meet me. I concurred. He motioned to our most recent bag of donations and warmly thanked me for them. All the nervousness sank away. I slowly exhaled. He told me that he was very interested in my non-profit (I'd written him a brief letter about my desire to launch it in the new year) and that he planned to share that information with a woman at the state level who coordinated all the facilities. I was beyond thrilled! I grabbed his hand and thanked him over and over. I felt like we could go on and that I just might have a successful non-profit.

We left the facility and a new zest grew inside my chest. I could not wait to get home and get to work!

In the next few days, I will file all my paperwork with the state. In the next few months, I will, with the help of a good friend, create a website. I will also be shipping out more boxes filled with delightful things for all those children to enjoy. And, I will keep you posted about all these adventures. Until next time...