Children of Cook County inmates receive Christmas gifts
CHICAGO - The children of inmates at Cook County Jail will have a very merry Christmas thanks to the non-profit, Chicagoland Prison Outreach, and their Angels of Hope program.
"The last several years we've been giving out 2,500 Christmas gifts a year," said Executive Director Corey Buchanan.
Children often times are the innocent bystanders of an incarcerated parent. The organization makes sure they don't go without and feel connected to their parent, even though they may not see them every day.
Starting in October, Chicagoland Prison Outreach connects with the families of inmates asking for their children's wish lists. They distribute those lists to over 20 area churches and private individuals. Those organizations shop for the gifts and they are hand delivered throughout December.
"The gifts come on behalf of the individual that's incarcerated. We get an opportunity to show them some love in this season, both the person that's incarcerated and their family," said Buchanan.
This year, the program has served 492 children, delivering nearly 2,000 gifts.
Ramonica Milsap's son is incarcerated. She participates in the program.
"My son has kids and he's not there to give them anything, but of course we put on there, 'from dad,' you know? And they be happy about that," she said.
Rosemary Villarreal has two children currently incarcerated. She shared how much it meant to her son's children to receive the gifts.
"My granddaughter, she cried because she loves her dad so much. At first she thought they weren't together and he didn't want anything to do with them. But they were still together. He thought of them every day," said Villarreal.
Her son, Daniel, is serving his fifth year of a 25 year sentence for second-degree murder. Daniel participates in the program's Bible study program. His family also participates.
"It really does give them hope and faith that they can change their ways and when they do come out, they can have a better life," said Villarreal.
Angels of Hope also connects these mothers and other family members with each other for support. Throughout the year, they give the families food, school supplies and counseling.
For more information, visit: http://www.cpoministries.org