Fundraiser for Children with Incarcerated Parents

Hello, I am Nicolas Donoghue and am requesting your generosity to help me move forward with my Troop 509 Eagle Project. My beneficiary is Center for Restorative Justice Works. They are a non-profit that relies on donations to support their “Get On The Bus ” (GOTB) program, which services children with mothers and fathers in prison.

 

The Get on the Bus program partners with 13 California prisons to host family events. They unite 5,900 children every year with their incarcerated parents.

• over 200,000 CA children have a parent in prison. • CA has 12,000+ women in jail, more than any other state.

• 63% of jailed parents are more than 100 miles away from family • 60% of prisoners do not get visits from their children.

 

GOTB relies on donations to offer:

• Free transportation –

o Before dawn, families meet at local youth centers/churches for their bus to make other stops, and they travel 600 miles to San Quentin State Prison and Folsom State Prison. They travel 6 hours each way for a 4-hour prison visit. A 16–18 hour day. It may be the only time they see their parent that year.

• 3 meals, photo of the child with parent and post-event counseling

• Comfort backpacks for children to keep occupied on the long bus ride. (Your donation can help me here)

 

GOTB’s goals

• Help children/parents bond and heal • lower school dropout & suspension • reduce trauma, shame and poor life outcomes

• Reduce intergenerational cycles of harm and prison • increased parental involvement when the parent is released

 

Research shows positive outcomes with family visits. Any visit reduced the risk of recidivism by 13% for felony reconvictions and 25% for technical violation revocations.

 

I can create 72 comfort backpacks with your generous donations for their 16-18 hour day.

1. backpack (to be reused for school)

2. Your donation will also help purchase urgent needs:

With your donation, the comfort backpacks will provide immediate benefit to children in these ways:

1. set a positive mood  2. keep kids busy and low stress  3. increase positive well-being and self-esteem

Long term resource benefit to children and organization:

Your donation and my assistance will help reduce the program’s financial burden, and children and their guardians will know they are not alone and you care about them.

 

Funding timeline: Please help fully fund this project by April 8 to allow time to order and receive the purchases and have fellow scouts put the items together to deliver by April 25 as GOTB prepares for their Mother’s Day event in May.

Your donation in any amount is appreciated. Please share this link https://gofund.me/cce5f843 to help gain more support for Get On The Bus and its mission.

 

Thank you for reading all this and taking action.

Nicolas Donoghue