Jean Mathurin of Fairfield University’s
Media Center announced on
June 21, 2010 that “The Prodigal
Project” video had also won a
Bronze Award in the 31st
Telly Awards.
Founded in 1978, the Telly Awards is the premier award honoring
outstanding local, regional, and
cable TV commercials and
programs, as well as the finest
video and film productions, and
web commercials, videos and
films. The Telly Awards annually
showcases the best work of the
most respected advertising
agencies, production companies,
television stations, cable
operators, and corporate video
departments in the world. The
Telly Awards is a widely known
and highly respected national
and international competition
and receives over 11,000 entries
annually from all 50 states and
many foreign countries. 18% of
entries are Bronze
Telly Award winners.
If you are an employer, or know an employer, who would like to
discuss the option of hiring a qualified former offender,
please contact Dan Braccio at
203 367-8441 x 231 /
danbraccio@ccgb.org,
or John Santa at
santaj@santaenergy.com.
Thank you for your support!
CO-OP CENTER SCHOLARSHIP
LAUNCHES ACADEMIC JOURNEY
Anthony Walton was sentenced in
January 31, 2003 to a five-year
sentence, suspended after 15 months,
for carrying a pistol without a
permit.
In June 2003, he was approved for a
halfway house in Bridgeport and was
placed at Connecticut Renaissance’s
Maple Street Halfway House in
Bridgeport. While there, a fellow
resident told him about CO-OP
Center, and, specifically, about a
program that would pay for college
tuition at Housatonic Community
College (HCC). Anthony’s problem:
the deadline to submit an
application and essay about why he
wanted to go to HCC was the next
day.
He immediately sat down and wrote an
essay and submitted it with his
application to CO-OP Center. To his
delight, he was accepted and
received a partial scholarship,
subsidized in part by a grant from
the Watkinson Prisoners’ Aid
Society, to attend HCC that Fall.
In September 2003, Anthony started
taking classes at Housatonic
Community College. He also worked
full time at Godiva Chocolates in
Stamford as a key holder, attended
classes, and managed to comply with
the 11 pm curfew imposed by the
halfway house.
In April 2004, Anthony was released
from Maple Street’s halfway house
back into society and continued his
studies at HCC. He started working
at Isaiah 61:1, Inc.’s halfway house
in July 2005 as a house manager. He
saw this as an opportunity to “give
back” the knowledge he was acquiring
in his human services courses, and
to increase the Isaiah house
residents’ hopes.
On June 1, 2006, Anthony graduated
from HCC with an Associate Science
Degree in Criminal Justice. Anthony
said that HCC gave him the
opportunity to learn from some great
professors like Howard Stein and
Edwena Chance. He credits his family
with giving him the support he
needed throughout his trials. Also,
his faith in God (Allah) and his
beautiful girlfriend, Aretha, gave
him strength. In 2007, Anthony
obtained a full time job at the
Thomas Merton Center as their Lead
Case Manger. Thomas Merton Center is
a division of Catholic Charities of
the Diocese of Bridgeport.
On May 8, 2010, Anthony Walton
graduated from the University of
Bridgeport’s Ideal Program with a
Bachelor of Science in Human
Services. In an email to Dan Braccio,
CO-OP Center’s Program Director,
Anthony wrote, “I thank you every
day for helping me start my
journey.” Dan shared with
CEO/President Rev. Brian Bodt that
this was “one of the best
investments we ever made.
In 2011, Anthony will begin his next
journey, pursuing a master degree in
psychology. Then, his dream is to
start his own psychotherapy
practice. Anthony says that the
struggle is not over yet for him. He
was turned down for several jobs
because of his criminal record.
Presently, he is preparing to
present his application for a full
pardon to the state Board of Parole
and Pardons. Anthony says, “I hope
one day society will realize we all
make mistakes and need second
chances. We all make mistakes; we
just have to learn from them.”
You can help other CO-OP Center clients realize
their dreams by making a
contribution to CO-OP Center’s HCC
Scholarship Fund. Every donation
made before November 1, 2010 will be
matched up to $2,000 by a challenge
grant from the Watkinson Prisoner’s
Aid Society. Make checks payable
to The Council of Churches and put
“CO-OP Scholarship” on the memo
line, or make a credit card donation
by using the JustGive option on the
home page of The Council’s website.
Matching Grant Challenge
The Watkinson Prisoners’ Aid Society
of Hartford recently awarded CO-OP
Center a 2010 Matching Grant of
$2,000.00. CO-OP Center Program
Director, Dan Braccio, said that the
funds would help in the development
of an expanded
computer technology learning center
at
The Council of Churches.
“This will enable more students to
participate in the ongoing GED
preparation classes that are offered
three days per week, as well as
improve their computer application
skills through the free computer
courses that are offered each
month.” Mr. Braccio said.
The Watkinson grant requires that CO-OP Center
raise an additional $2,000.00 in
“new” money, i.e., donors who have
not contributed to CO-OP Center
directly in the past. The deadline
to raise these funds is
November 1, 2010.
To advance this campaign, we have installed a Grant
Thermometer to track the
contributions to this matching
grant. It costs less than $50 per
student (or about $8/hour) to train
someone in the use of a Microsoft
application like WORD, EXCEL, or
POWERPOINT at CO-OP Center . Each of
these computer skills increases the
chances that one of our former
offenders will find sustainable
employment. Students have expressed
their deep appreciation for the
opportunity to learn
new computer skills in our
technology learning center
(TLC) because of the quality of the
volunteer instructors.
Your contribution of $500, or $50, or $5 will help us move the
thermometer closer to our goal of
$2,000.00. Thank you for making a
contribution toward the Watkinson
grant challenge by sending a check
payable to The Council of Churches
(please put “Watkinson’ on the memo
line), or by going to the JustGive
link on the
ccgb.org home page. If
you need additional information,
please contact Dan Braccio at
203 367-8441 x 231 or
danbraccio@ccgb.org. Thank you
for your support!
Prodigal Project Event, March 9,
2010
Nearly 100 people attended a World
Premiere of The Prodigal Project
Video at Fairfield University’s
Dolan School of Business on Tuesday,
March 9, 2010.
John Santa, a CCGB Board of
Directors member and founder of
Malta Prison Volunteers of CT,
hosted the event which included
local and state politicians,
business men and women, non-profit
agencies, and former offenders.
The Prodigal Project Video is a
short feature film highlighting true
employment success stories and
encouraging employers to give
qualified former offenders a fair
chance at a decent job. The film is
the cornerstone of an employer-to-
employer outreach effort, with
information about the programs and
services that support former
offenders.
“One in 100 adults in this country
is locked up, and 95% of them will
be released at some point,” said
John Santa, of Malta Prison
Volunteers (MPV). “Would you rather
have an ex-offender on the streets
with a job or without one?”
Mr. Santa and his MPV team have been
working for three years with the
Bridgeport Reentry Collaborative, a
group of people and organizations
working to share resources and
information to assist people
returning to the community from
prison. Studies show that many
employers will not even consider
hiring anyone with a criminal
conviction. However, many people
returning from prison are qualified,
and very motivated to work and
support their families. They have
proved to be very valuable
employees. Mr. Santa is also
co-owner of Santa Energy in
Bridgeport and has hired many former
offenders over the years.
After the 11-minute video was
viewed, a panel made of up of Peter
Gioia, CBIA economist; Mary Jane
Foster, former co-owner of the
Bridgeport Bluefish; Dr. Patrick
Hynes, Director of Offender Programs
and Victim Services for the state
Department of Correction; and Tracy
Lucas, a former CO-OP Center client,
who appeared in the Prodigal Project
video spoke from their perspectives
about the importance of employment
and having businesses offer
individuals a chance at sustainable
jobs. A question and answer period
followed.
During the event, John Santa
presented Kevin Fonck, local manager
of Lindley Food Services, with the
Second Chance Employer of the Year
Award for the company’s willingness
to offer former offenders good
employment opportunities.
The premiere event was sponsored by
The Council of Churches of Greater
Bridgeport, Malta Prison Volunteers
of Connecticut, Career Resources,
and the Bridgeport Reentry
Collaborative. Malta Prison
Volunteers of Connecticut is part of
the Order of Malta which is a
900-year old organization of
Catholic men and women who work on
behalf of sick and poor people
throughout the world.
To view The Prodigal Project video,
visit
www.mpvct.org
and click on the Videos tab, or go
to www.youtube.com and type
“Prodigal Project” in the search
window.
Photos in order top to bottom:
John Santa, CCGB Director,
and host for the 3/9 event
introduces the Prodigal Project
Video to a full house;
Mary Jane Foster, former
owner of the
Bridgeport Bluefish,
addresses the audience;
Bridgeport Mayor
Bill Finch and CBIA economist
Peter Gioia meet at the Prodigal
Project Event
Put those Unused Gift cards to Good
Work!
Individuals and/or companies who
would like to support CO-OP Center’s
efforts with the federal Support
Court program can send unused gift
cards to:
Dan Braccio,
The Council of
Churches of Greater Bridgeport,
1100 Boston Ave.,
Bldg 5A,
Bridgeport, CT 06610.
Gift cards can be in any amount.
Please designate the amount on a
separate piece of paper in the
envelope, or written plainly on the
card. Gift cards to department
stores, grocery stores, and
restaurants are the most useful.
Passes to movie theaters and other
entertainment venues are also
welcome.
November
12, 2009
Dan,
On behalf of the
Support Court I want to express our
gratitude to you and the members of
your organization for the gift
cards. Thus far two participants
have been awarded gift cards and it
has been one of the true highlights
of Support Court. Your assistance
has allowed Support Court to reward
its participants for working above
and beyond. Since our participants
have a past plagued with drug use
and a criminal life style to support
their use, having the ability to
provide a meaningful incentive to
these participants. Our participants
can then, if they choose, share it
with family and friends in an effort
to give back to those individuals
who supported them then, and
continue to support them in their
efforts to live a life substance
free.
Yours truly,
Deborah Palmieri
Supervising U.S.
Probation Officer
Bridgeport, CT
