BERKELEY, CA--(Marketwire - June 8, 2010) - Get On The Bus, a nonprofit whose mission is to unite children with their mothers and fathers in prison, and Project WHAT, a program of Berkeley-based nonprofit Community Works, are partnering for the first time. Project WHAT is comprised of Bay Area youth ages 15-21, all of whom have or have had a parent incarcerated. The Project WHAT youth will be sponsoring a bus filled with children from Oakland going to visit their dads at California Men's Colony (CMC) in San Luis Obispo, CA on June 12, 2010.
The youth team volunteered to put together travel bags for the children and their caregivers making the journey to CMC. In addition, after their Friday night sleepover at the Community Works facility, the youth will provide snacks for the bus ride and a breakfast at 4:30 a.m. before the bus departs the Berkeley stop.
"I didn't have an opportunity see my father when he was incarcerated, but I want to make sure that other kids can have that opportunity. All children should have a right to speak with, see, and touch their parents," said Kristina Sanders, a Project WHAT participant.
"We are so excited to partner with an organization like Project WHAT because they really understand the hardships of having an incarcerated parent," said Get On The Bus Director Maria Palmer.
In addition to this bus, thirty-three buses filled with more than 700 children and their caregivers will travel from major cities across California to one of four male institutions for our other Father's Day events:
- California Men's Colony (CMC), San Luis Obispo - June 5 and 12
- Correctional Training Facility (CTF), Soledad - June 19
- Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP), Soledad - June 19
- California State Prison (CSP-Solano), Solano - June 19
The buses arrive between 8 and 10 a.m. to accommodate the greatest number of visitors in visiting rooms with limited space.
Get On The Bus provides children and their caregivers with travel bags for the children, a photograph of each child with his or her father, and meals for the day. On the bus trip home following the visit with the fathers, each child will receive a teddy bear with a letter from his or her father as well as post-event counseling. The program is funded by donations from churches, schools, family foundations, grants and other organizations. We welcome any media to join our event. A background check with the prison is required at least 24 hours before the event.
CMC: Contact Lt. Dean Spears, (805) 547-7948
CTF: Contact Lt. Darren Chamberlain, (831) 678-5952
SVSP: Contact Lt. Eric Moore, (831) 678-5554
CSP-Solano: Contact Lt. Cindy Flores, (707) 454-3257
Contact Information:
CONTACT:
Maria Palmer
Get On The Bus, Director
(818) 980-7714 ext. 12
Northern/Central California:
Claire Williams
GOTB Coordinator
(925) 335-9314
Southern California:
Karen Plante
GOTB Coordinator
(310) 903-3345