Humans of New York (HONY) is a blog and bestselling book featuring interviews collected on the streets of New York. Recently, the folks at HONY decided to turn their attention to prison inmates, giving their readers a fascinating glimpse into what life is really like inside a correctional facility. While at the Federal Correctional Complex in Hazelton, West Virginia, they met with an anonymous prisoner with a touching story to tell.
With his shaved head and tattoos, many people would be quick to cast him aside and write him off. But in talking with this man, HONY discovered that he has dedicated himself to organizing many wonderful programs while incarcerated. One of these classes is called Creative Parenting, and it’s hugely popular within the prison. "I don’t have any kids myself, but I noticed that most guys are really soft for their kids," he told HONY. "So that gave me an idea."
Scroll down to hear all about the simple idea that's now touching the hearts of readers all over the world. One Facebook commenter puts it best: "It's so uplifting to see someone do something so selfless with his time served. He may not have any children of his own, but he's made such a difference in many kids' lives simply by being there and inspiring others to be there too."
H/T: Humans of New York
"I’ve organized a lot of programs in prison. One of the classes I started is called Creative Parenting. It’s the most popular class here. The waiting list is really long. I don’t have any kids myself, but I noticed that most guys are really soft for their kids. So that gave me an idea. Mainly we just make stuff and send it to the kids."
"We’ll do coloring projects where the father will color half the picture, and the kid will color the second half. We write bedtime stories. Most of the guys write about sports, but we make sure that every story has a moral. Sometimes we’ll take funny photos and send them to the kids."
"One guy’s daughter was really into My Little Pony. He was a tough guy. He was in a gang and everything, but he put his hair into pigtails and pretended to be a horse."
"We did another class where we made cards for kids with cancer. I had my family set it up with a hospital. We made about 200 cards. They didn’t want us to write ‘I hope you feel better,’ because that reminds the kids of what they’re going through. So we tried to keep it focused on Christmas.
There were 150 guys in my unit, and 60 signed up for that program. A lot of the guys had to wait outside because the room was too small."
I absolutely love this prison program. It's awesome to see he's making the most of his time doing something of so much value. If you agree, please SHARE this with your friends on Facebook!
