ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

 

1601 W. JEFFERSON
PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85007
(602) 542-3133

JANET NAPOLITANO
GOVERNOR

DORA  SCHRIRO
DIRECTOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Media Advisory
For Immediate Release

 

 

For more information contact:

Nolberto Machiche

Bill Lamoreaux
(602) 542-3133
                                       

 

December 14, 2007

Spreading Holiday Happiness 

(Statewide)— ADC staff and inmates at each of the state’s 10 prisons are busy preparing for the holiday season and spreading holiday happiness to Arizonans in need. Staff is adopting families, delivering toys and gifts to children throughout the state. Inmates are refurbishing bikes, making wooden toys and crocheting dolls for children in need. 

Here is a list of facilities and their plans for this holiday season. If you want further information or would like to attend, you must give the media division a call at least 24 hours in advance so we may obtain clearance for you to enter the facility. 

ASPC-EYMAN (Florence)

  • Staff and inmates at ASPC-Eyman are assisting Santa this year, bringing cheer to the Florence K-8 School where teachers have identified 29 children (13 girls and 16 boys between the ages of 5 through 11, in Kindergarten through 5th grade) in need.   
  • Inmates are making wooden toys for children served by the Family Advocacy Center.

 

ASPC-FLORENCE (Florence)

  • Staff and inmates are adopting families and sponsoring a teddy bear drive for every child served by the Florence Head Start.  Teddy bears are also being donated to the Florence Police Department to give to children in distress when responding to service calls.

  •  Inmates have adopted several women and their children who are spending this holiday season in a domestic violence safe house.

  • The prison is also collecting donations of food, gifts and cash for other families to help make their holiday a little brighter.

 

ASPC-LEWIS (Buckeye)

  • ADC staff has selected several employees and their families in need as this year’s beneficiaries of the Christmas Angel Program.  Tags are placed on the Christmas Angel tree for everyone to select. This is the prison’s third year.

  • Children visiting inmates during the holiday season can pick from paper ornaments made by staff to decorate the visitation areas.

 

ASPC-PERRYVILLE (Goodyear)

  • Female offenders are making Christmas Stockings and stuffing them with candy to donate to nearby charities including the New Life Shelter in Avondale.  All of the materials used to decorate the stockings were donated by the East Valley Women’s League.  

  • Staff and inmates are participating in the Salvation Army Christmas Angle Program donating money and purchasing presents for 2,000 valley children.

 

ASPC-PHOENIX (Phoenix)

  • Staff and inmates are helping the Crisis Nursery, an organization providing emergency shelter and support services to children from birth to age 10 and their families since 1977.     They are raising money to purchase food, clothing, baby formula, baby food, soap and shampoo, all items on the Nursery's wish list.

  • Staff is also collecting toys and other presents for needy children in the Globe area enrolled in the community’s Angel Tree project. Inmates at the Globe Unit are refurbishing bikes for those less fortunate. These bikes will be donated to the police department and community organizations for children in need. 

ASPC-SAFFORD (Safford)

  • Staff and inmates are collecting new unwrapped toys for the Toys for Tots Campaign which will be turned in to the local community coordinator on December 17th.

  • Stocking Project had a total of 242 inmates sign up where Inmates were allowed to decorate stockings to send home to their children, spouse, or other loved one.  The stocking contained an assortment of candy.  Stockings are being mailed out/or picked up at visitation.   A total of 395 stockings were ordered and made specifically for this project.  The stocking project was completed this past week end.  Proceeds of this project are being put into Toys for Tots campaign.

  • The inmates on each unit are participating in fund raisers with the profits raised going to the Toys for Tots Campaign.

  • Staff is also honoring veterans at the local nursing home this Christmas, a tradition they started in 2006.

  • Staff is participating in the annual local ADC Staff Angel Tree Program to help their peers in need through this season. They started this initiative in 2002.

  • For the second year, inmates are also donating personal funds to buy presents for the Mary's Mission Children's Home.  The presents will be purchased by staff and the inmates will wrap them based on a request list.  The inmates also raised extra money to donate to the Homes in the Safford and Sierra Vista areas on top of getting the gifts for the children.

  • Inmates are assisting the local Community Action Agency with sorting and packing food for the Christmas Food Baskets for the needy. Inmates have participated in this program for over ten years.

  • Staff donated money to the local Community Action Agency to purchase five food baskets for the needy this Christmas.

  • For the second year inmates are repairing donated bicycles for the Oddfellows with donations from the community, WalMart and Ace Hardware which are given to local needy children.  We have increased the number of bikes from 32 last year to approximately 100 this year.

 

ASPC-TUCSON (Tucson)

  • Staff from Tucson is sending Christmas cards to the military troops for the holidays.

  • On December 15th staff are participating in the Shop with a Cop program in Scottsdale, in conjunction with AZCOPS and the Phoenix Police Department and surrounding areas.

  • On December 18th Tucson staff who belong to the FOP are participating in the Shop with a Cop program at the Park Mall in conjunction with the Tucson Police Department.

  • Staff is participating in the annual ADC Staff Angel Tree Program helping their colleagues who are less fortunate. 

  • Inmates hand made 2000 Christmas tags for the gifts that are given to the children at Christmas, through Aviva Children’s Services.  The tags were provided by the agency, and the inmates had to place a sticker on each tag, and then free hand designs on every single one of them.  This took 22 inmates 3 days to complete. 

  • Monies from a fund raiser held in November were dedicated to Aviva Children’s Services, a non-profit that works with children of abuse and neglect after placement in CPS, alternative housing or foster care.  $600.95 was raised which will be used to purchase the kids socks and underwear for Christmas. 

  • Catalina: inmates are making teddy bears and mice out of felt material, attaching to candy canes and providing them to the children at the Tucson Center for Women and Children and other domestic violence shelters in need of gifts for children.  The monies raised will be used to purchase materials to begin the candy cane, teddy bear, and doll house projects to benefit local restorative justice organizations in need.

  • All of the units are conducting fund raisers for the month of December. Proceeds from the fund raisers will benefit Mothers against Drunk Drivers. 

  • During the month of December monies raised from Cimarron and Echo Units during November will be used to purchase clothes of all sizes for Casa de los Ninos, a non profit organization where children are placed when removed from abusive homes.

 

ASPC-WINSLOW (Winslow)

  • Staff is sponsoring a second annual Angel Tree for ADC employees who could use a little assistance this holiday season.

  • Inmate at the Coronado Unit will be collecting money for Catholic Social Services.  The money will go to give foster children clothing and misc. items.

 

ASPC-YUMA (San Luis)

  • Staff and inmates are partnering with the Marine Corp to raise funds to buy toys for TOYS for TOTS.

  • Personnel staff is sponsoring an Angel Tree for ADC employees who could use a little assistance this holiday season.

  • Inmates are also donating non-perishable food items to the local food bank.  

 

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