My Nonprofit Reviews

I have been volunteering with The Freedom to Choose Project for a number of years and the experience of being a volunteer has been life-changing. I came into prison with so many preconceived ideas of what prison was like and most definitely what prison inmates were like. As I sat and got to know the women in front of me, I could honestly say that I had more in common with them, then not. I get to practice seeing the person, their true essence and not what they have done. I've witnessed people change over time doing this work and I am one of them. I remember an inmate stood up and shared once "the difference between The Freedom to Choose Project and the rest of the groups that come here, is that they always talk to us from the stage, but you sit right next to us. I feel like a human being again." This non-profit is incredibly unique and special and I am blessed to be a part of it.

I've had the honor of volunteering for the Freedom to Choose Foundation three times now and intend on volunteering as many times as possible. One aspect that I absolutely love about this project is that it is experiential in nature, giving the inmates the opportunity to practice effective communication skills with the volunteers and with each other. As I have had the opportunity to share about my life and hear about their lives, the walls begin to dissolve and I have discovered that we are essentially more the same than we are different. This project is one of the most powerful things I have ever participated in and I encourage anyone reading this to watch the 22 minute documentary to get a deeper sense of the nature of the incredible contribution Freedom to Choose Foundation is making in the lives of so many.