These volunteers deliver gifts to people in the Broome County jail and their children
Members of the jail ministry are making sure no one in the Broome County jail or their family members are forgotten during the upcoming holiday season.
“It shows them that they’re part of our community,” said the Rev. Dr. Cris H. Mogenson, coordinating chaplain of the jail ministry. “It’s a little gesture that says, hey, you’re worth something.”
Donations are already being collected for gifts for incarcerated people and their children at the Broome County jail in Dickinson through the efforts of the jail ministry, which is run through the Broome County Council of Churches.
Gifts are given to the people in the jail and their children as a way of brightening the holiday season and reconnecting families, Mogenson said.
Incarcerated people are often overlooked, especially around the holidays. But Mogenson pointed to the Bible and the gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, which talks about the importance of visiting prisoners.
“These are commandments of our Lord,” he said.
In addition, people currently in jail may be the classmates, co-workers or neighbors of local residents, he said.
“The jail is still part of our community,” Mogenson said. “I believe in community-based correction.”
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Incarcerated people need community support around the holidays and all year long, he said.
“We need to be part of the healing process,” he said. “It’s part of reaching out and showing compassion and caring.”
Step one for getting gifts for the children comes from a list filled out by their parent with their ages and interests. Volunteers buy the gifts, wrap them and deliver them to the children’s homes, with gift tags indicating they're from Mom or Dad.
“We try to reconnect them,” he said of the families. “It’s a way of showing that although Mom or Dad are not there, their folks still care about them.”
Life behind bars can be lonely, especially around the holidays. But volunteers, including the Seton Catholic Central School Key Club, decorate gift bags and fill them with small gifts including puzzle books, calendars and candy canes. Gift bags are dropped off at cells on Christmas Eve, Mogenson said.
“The gifts that we give to the inmates show them that they’re not abandoned,” he said.
In addition to the holiday gift giving, the jail ministry also provides worship and Bible study opportunities, pastoral counseling, release planning and a re-entry program which helps people transition back to life outside jail.
Donations of warm clothing, single entry bus passes to help people from out of town get back home and hygiene items are collected all year long, Mogenson said.
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The jail ministry also runs a family literacy program which records parents in jail reading a book aloud and then gives the book to their child. Books can be donated all year long.
This program can also help some people in jail boost their literacy skills, Mogenson said.
“Literacy is empowering,” he said. “The recidivism rate drops dramatically when people can read and write.”
How to help
The Broome County Jail Ministry is looking for monetary donations as well as stamps, single trip bus passes, stuffed animals, puzzle books, books, small tissue packs, waterproof gift bags and small candy canes. Volunteers are welcome to help wrap gifts and put together gift bags. The jail ministry is also looking for trained literacy volunteers to teach people in the jail to read.
Donations may be dropped off at the Broome County Council of Churches, 3 Otseningo St., Binghamton, NY 13903.
For more information, contact the council at 607-724-9130 or email mail@broomecouncil.net.
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Broome ministry delivers gifts to families divided by incarceration
