Gus Harrison Correctional Facility prisoners help Associated Charities after fire
Helping children in need is nothing new for prisoners in the Gus Harrison Correctional Facility's Warden’s Forum and Prisoner Benefit Fund.
When asked if there was something they could do to help Associated Charities of Lenawee County restock its school supplies after the deliberately set fire there on Wednesday destroyed most of the items that were supposed to be given away to kids this week, staff members at the Madison Township prison who work with the Warden’s Forum and Prisoner Benefit Fund quickly agreed to help.
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Chris Howard, truancy prevention specialist and homeless education coordinator at the Lenawee Intermediate School District, asked about helping, said Matt Randall, the athletic/recreation director and Warden’s Forum liaison at the prison.
"With school starting on Monday they were needing the bags and supplies by tomorrow to pass out," Randall said in an email.
Randall, Howard and Andrew Johnson, the business manager at the prison and the Warden's Forum and Prisoner Benefit Fund, went to the Adrian Meijer store Thursday morning, bought $2,500 worth of book bags and school supplies and dropped them off at Associated Charities on behalf of Gus Harrison Correctional Facility, Warden Sherman Campbell and the prisoners at Gus Harrison, Randall said.
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"To say they were grateful and appreciative is an understatement," Randall said in his email. "Gus Harrison Correctional Facility, Chis Howard & LISD and Meijer of Adrian teamed up to make a HUGE difference in our community and for the children of Lenawee County today!"
The inmate funding comes from a portion of the money collected over time from prisoners using their own money to buy items at the prison commissary. The Warden's Forum has donated several thousand dollars over the years to help causes such as homeless students and the Special Olympics.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Gus Harrison Correctional Facility prisoners help Associated Charities
