'We want to break the cycle of loneliness': Volunteers WillowCreekCC prep thousands of 'Hope Packs' for prisoners
Sometimes a box of snacks, a holiday card and a book can bridge the gap from despair to hope.
"We want to break the cycle of loneliness that happens for people who are behind bars at Christmastime," said Stacey Kidd of Lake Zurich, a volunteer leader. Among the past recipients is Richard Van Arsdale, a former inmate who's now chaplain for the Good News Jail and Prison Ministry in Virginia. At Willow Creek's South Barrington campus Sunday, Van Arsdale said he served time after being arrested in connection with a shooting during a drug deal gone bad.
"This gives them a chance to participate in how we can show people the love of God at Christmas, to bring hope, for them to realize that they can make a difference as a sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grader," said Gretchen Dedina, director of Willow Creek's junior high ministry,
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