CCA Communities Blog

This fall, staff and inmates from CCA’s South Central Correctional Center donated their time and funds in support of Tennessee former First Lady Andea Conte’s second annual “No More Victims Walk.”

Senior management, correctional staff and 126 inmates participated in walking laps inside the facility grounds to raise both funds and awareness for a charitable cause. Over $1,379 was raised from walk pledges and various fundraisers to support South Central’s donation to the Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse of Hardin County. The funds were presented to Luke Delavergne, Hardin County Carl Perkins coordinator.

Facility Walk Coordinators Chief Debra Casteel and Unit Manager Marisa Bishop thanked everyone for their continued support and are looking forward to future service opportunities.

Inmates at Crowley County Correctional Facility donated their time and creativity to benefit the local centennial celebration.

This autumn, Crowley County, Colorado, celebrated their centennial celebration. CCA’s Crowley County Correctional Facility (CCCF) got involved in the festivities and found an interesting way to give back to their community.

Under the guidance of  their class instructor, Sadie Hernandez, the woodshop at CCCF constructed custom birdhouses. The facility’s NCCER core curriculum class painted and decorated the birdhouses, crafting a total of 26 unique birdhouse designs. The birdhouses were then donated by the inmates and CCCF to the centennial celebration. When the centennial celebration concluded, the birdhouses were auctioned off. The auction produced $610, which was then donated to the Heritage Foundation for future projects.

Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, recently held a staff basketball game at Stewart County High School. Tickets were sold and all proceeds were donated to the Stewart County High School. The game featured the SDC SORT team vs. the SDC general staff. Many SDC employees and staff participated in and attended the event, and it was a huge success!

A second basketball game has been planned for this weekend September 24, 2011.

“What a great way to give back to the community, all participants and attendees volunteered their own time to help raise money for their local school,” said Bethany Norman, business manager at Stewart Detention Center. “Way to go SDC employees!”

From left are Assistant Warden Sam Rogers, Programs; Warden Bruno Stolc; Keith Andree, religious volunteer; and Chaplain Christopher Aguirre.

Arizona’s Tri-Valley Dispatch recently spotlighted the work of CCA volunteer Keith Andree.

For the last 10 years, Andree has been providing spiritual support and guidance to inmates at Red Rock Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona. Andree began volunteering in prisons more than 30 years ago through Kiaros Prison Ministry International, Inc.

In recognition of his service, Andree was recently named as a recipient of the 2011 Pete Spackman Volunteer of the Year Award, an annual honor given by CCA to outstanding volunteers.

Read more about Andree’s remarkable commitment to inmates in our care.

FSC employees enjoy root beer floats to celebrate their fundraising efforts.

On August 25, 2011, Facility Support Center (FSC) staff held a fundraiser for the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

For a donation of $5 or more, employees were permitted to wear jeans on an otherwise “business casual” workday. They raised a total of $935 – more than any FSC “Jeans Day” fundraiser so far this year. Employees who made donations enjoyed root beer floats, courtesy of ADA.

The fundraiser was led by CCA executive vice president and chief human resources officer Brian Collins, who’s serving as this year’s corporate chair of ADA’s Nashville chapter, and CCA manager, Operations Support (BUI) Jamie Warren, who’s leading Team Momentum – FSC’s fundraising team for ADA’s annual “Step Out” walk. Team Momentum has ranked as one of the top teams in Nashville for two consecutive years.

Chaplain John Moffitt delivered crocheted blankets to the local VA hospital.

For the past three years, female inmates at Torrance County Detention Facility have been given the opportunity to participate in two blanket programs; Blankets for Children and Blankets for Soldiers. To date, these women have donated more than 1,200 blankets to support their local communities.

The children’s blankets go to University Hospital, shelters and are also carried in some local sheriff patrol cars to comfort children that need to be removed from their homes in domestic disputes. The soldiers’ blankets are donated to the local VA hospital as lap blankets for military personel in wheelchairs.

“The crocheters really enjoy being able to give back to the community in this way,” explained John Moffit, chaplain at Torrance County Detention Facility. ”This program is a true win/win situation. We have just begun to expand our program with the VA Hospital to include crochet bags that will hang across the back of the wheelchairs so the veterans will have a convenient place to carry things while they are exploring the hospital hallways.”

Staff members from Kit Carson Correctional Center were invited by the Colorado Department of Corrections to join in a golf fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club of Freemont County.

Senior Correctional Officers Charles Osborn, Kenneth Neve and Ron Bowers were joined by Education Instructor Dennis Daise to support this great cause.

Kilt’s were optional…

It’s a ’clean sweep’ for our team members at CCA’s Eloy Detention Center in Eloy, Arizona. Their adopted one-mile stretch of Highway 87, right out front of the facility, was recently the focus of their attention during a daylong community clean up. Wearing their safety vests and armed with trash bags, they picked-up several months worth of accumulated trash and debris, primarily discarded by passing motorists. Eloy Detention Center volunteers are happy to do their part in association with Arizona’s ’Adopt a Highway Program’ which allows individuals, organizations and businesses to help maintain sections of roadside within the Arizona State Highway System. CLICK HERE for more information on Arizona’s Adopt a Highway program. A big thanks to our team at Eloy, for helping keep their small part of the beautiful Arizona landscape, litter free.

Looking after the needs of abused, neglected and abandoned children in the foster care system of Pinal County, Arizona is a full time job for the staff and volunteers of the Pinal Council for CASA/Foster Inc (PCCI). Recently, the agency’s founders were invited guests to the 2nd Quarter Community Relations meeting of the CCA Eloy, Arizona facilities. Lynda Williams and Carmen Auza of PCCI had the opportunity to share their passion to help foster children reach their full potential as responsible, contributing and self-sufficient adults. These women, along with others in the community, have been on this mission for nearly a decade, always in need of volunteers and support to save young lives. After sharing their stories and brochures, the warden’s of CCA in Eloy had something to share too. CCA Managing Director James Schomig, and wardens Todd Thomas (Saguaro Correctional Center), Bruno Stolc (Red Rock Correctional Center), Chuck De Rosa (Eloy Detention Center) and Jim MacDonald (La Palma Correctional Center) presented PCCI president Williams with a collective donation of $1,000 to assist the agency with its worthwhile mission of giving foster children the opportunity to be loved, and to succeed. Learn more at Pinal Council for CASA/Foster, Inc. (PCCI) 

The women on the 4th Floor Unit Team at the CCA Marion County Jail II in Indianapolis, Ind. have a passion for helping others and recently joined up with a group of young women with a very meaningful mission. They partnered with the Young Survival Coalition of Central Indiana (YSC) in the creation of kits containing information about breast cancer. The kits will be given to young women on the very day they are diagnosed. The CCA women from the 4th Floor Unit believe strongly in the mission of the YSC and its members, who are dedicated to critical issues unique to young women and breast cancer. The YSC of Central Indiana was formed on September 10, 2000 through the efforts of seven breast cancer survivors. In addition to serving as an advocate for breast cancer awareness and education, YSC Central Indiana provides monthly educational meetings, workshops and quarterly family friendly social events. Learn more at Young Survival Coaltion of Central Indiana.