Prison management company CoreCivic honored as inmates restore 55,000th wheelchair for people in need
September 27 2024 - 7:00AM
Over the past seventeen years, inmates at the South Central
Correctional Facility (SCCF) in Clifton, Tennessee, have restored
over 25,000 donated wheelchairs through a prison work program. The
used wheelchairs they fix are sent to high-need areas around the
world through the Joni and Friends Wheels for the World™ program,
which distributes mobility devices and Bibles to the world’s most
vulnerable citizens.
Last month, inmates learned the impact of their efforts. At a
ceremony celebrating 55,000 wheelchairs restored through CoreCivic,
the umbrella company that operates SCCF, Joni and Friends staff
told the story of Nicole, a young woman living with cerebral palsy
in the Philippines who received her first wheelchair at the age of
twenty-five during a Joni and Friends outreach.
Incarcerated workers in the Wheels for the World restoration
program report that the meaningful act of wheelchair restoration,
underpinned by the Gospel message, makes them feel “human again”
and “not like a stereotypical inmate.”
To celebrate the restoration of 55,000 wheelchairs for disabled
individuals in low-resource countries through its prison work
programs, Joni and Friends recognized CoreCivic with two award
presentations for achieving this major milestone.
Joni and Friends honored CoreCivic program participants with a
special lunch celebration at South Central Correctional Facility
last month. The ministry also thanked CoreCivic executives with a
plaque presentation at the American Correctional Association’s
154th Congress of Correction in Nashville.
Since 1998, Joni and Friends has partnered with CoreCivic to
operate occupational programs in their correctional facilities
where donated wheelchairs are restored to like-new condition before
being sent to countries around the world through the Joni and
Friends Wheels for the World™ program. Six CoreCivic prisons have
been home to wheelchair restoration programs over the past
two-and-a-half decades, and two are currently in operation,
including South Central Correctional Facility in Clifton, Tennessee
and Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Tutwiler,
Mississippi.
As the largest Wheels for the World restoration program, workers
at South Central Correctional Facility have processed nearly 27,000
wheelchairs to date since 2008. Chairs from South Central have been
shipped to 34 countries around the world including Honduras,
Uganda, and Ukraine.
"Partnering with Joni and Friends over the past twenty-five
years and reaching the milestone of more than 55,000 restored
wheelchairs has truly been a blessing," said Damon T. Hininger,
President and CEO of CoreCivic. "The impact of Wheels for the World
has been monumental not only for those who desperately need these
wheelchairs, but also because of the life-changing impact this
effort has had among those in our care who have participated in the
restoration program."
Paul Dorthalina, Director of Wheels for the World, said that it
is inspiring to watch men choose to do good for others while
serving a criminal sentence.
“We can see the life-changing difference their participation in
the Wheels for the World wheelchair restoration program is having
in their lives,” Paul said. “The Gospel is about redemption, and we
see people experiencing new life in Christ every day because they
were given the dignity of work or the dignity of mobility.”
Joni and Friends started Wheels for the World thirty years ago
to meet a pressing need. Eighty million people around the globe are
in need of a wheelchair, according to the World Health
Organization, but in some countries less than 5% have access to
one.
Since launching Wheels for the World, Joni and Friends has
distributed over 233,000 wheelchairs. The global need for a
wheelchair is growing every year as demand outpaces donations.
Joni and Friends partners with multiple correctional agencies
and institutions to bless the world’s disabled and give the dignity
of meaningful work to incarcerated individuals. Joni and Friends is
grateful for every partner that makes this important work
possible.
Wheels for the World also relies on donations and wheelchair
collection volunteers in the community. To learn how you can help,
visit https://joniandfriends.org/wheels-for-the-world/.
About Joni and Friends
For 45 years, Joni and Friends has provided the hope of the
Gospel and practical care to people living with disability across
the globe. Ministry programs include Joni’s House, Wheels for the
World, Family Retreats, and disability ministry training. Joni and
Friends also delivers daily inspirational media through radio
programs and podcasts. To find out more, please visit
www.joniandfriends.org.
- Restored wheelchairs, restored lives
Amy Hurtado
Joni and Friends
818.575.1766
pr@joniandfriends.org