News - 2008
CEC Alumni and Parolees Volunteer to Honor MLK
West Caldwell, NJ, Jan 21, 2008 - "Everybody can be great... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love."
The current parolees, who are serving their sentences under the supervision of State Parole Board parole officers, and ex-parolee members of Community Education Centers' Alumni Association, began their day of service at Logan Hall in Newark. They attended a presentation on Dr. King's life and contribution to American social justice, and then traveled to Bethel Family and Youth Resources to perform approximately four hours of volunteer work. In Trenton, parolees and CEC Alumni began their day of service at the Albert M. "Bo" Robinson Education and Training Center. They attended a presentation on Dr. King's life and contribution to American social justice, and then traveled to Donnelly Homes Recreation Center to perform approximately four hours of volunteer work.
Arthur Townes, Director of Community Education Centers' Alumni Association said, "Each offender that successfully reenters society represents a realization of the world Dr. King strove to create. The Alumni Associations' takes great honor in continuing Dr. King's work by providing resources to ex-offenders so that they may realize their dreams of leading productive and meaningful lives. The parolees and CEC Alumni here today are perfect examples of the spirit behind Dr. King's legacy of compassion and understanding."
State Parole Board Chairman Peter J. Barnes Jr. said, "These current parolees still serving their sentence, and former parolees who have reentered society and are now free citizens, today are demonstrating that it is possible for offenders to change, find rehabilitation, and benefit society. I applaud their service today, in honor of Dr. King's challenge that all Americans work for social and spiritual transformation."
Mayor Cory A. Booker said, "Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. knew that the cycle of recidivism and despair is a deadly and negative force that maintains hopelessness and poverty for millions of Americans. If we are to break the chains of racism and injustice that prevent us as a people from achieving the American dream of freedom and equality, we must break the chains of despair and hopelessness that continue to bind our returning ex-offenders, as they seek to rebuild their lives and resume their places as productive members of our society. Today's event will provide our ex-offenders with spiritual and physical examples and role models, and empower them to continue on the path to righteousness and redemption. This event will manifest the ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King as action and effort. Together, we shall overcome."
State Parole Board Member Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Saunders said, "Today's gathering serves as a testimony that future earnest expectations and goals can be accomplished through the overcoming and by the conquering of past failures. There are vast opportunities for parolees to reshape and remold their lives for the maximization of individual potential, and this deserves celebration. I believe Dr. King's own message here today would be, 'life doesn't have to be aimless or lack purpose. Your dreams and hopes for the future lie not ahead of you, but within you.' It is with a sense of great joy and continued hope that I salute these parolees and parole alumni in their efforts to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."
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