Choose to Change Awareness Event: "We're Going to the Top!"

Updated: Jun 8, 2021

Fatherlessness is the cause of

63% of youth suicide...

90% of runaway youth...

85% of behavior disorders...

71% of high school dropouts...

Since 2012, Choose to Change Foundation has had the opportunity to work with incarcerated men change their lives for good. Because we know first hand the negative impact fatherlessness has on families.

Through our non-profit, God has restored many families by working with men ready to change. In fact, they have lifestyles today that you would have never guessed they lived a life of gangs, drugs, and crime.

So in April, we held our very first event to share with community how we've been able to combat fatherlessness. We called it the "Choose to Change Awareness Event." We packed out the house in this successful event!

Long-time member, Diana Salinas kicked off the event by sharing our organizations vision: to end fatherlessness due to incarceration. She shared how our organization is one of the best ways to make a lasting impact in the world. Some people find fulfillment in entrepreneurship. Others find it in random acts of kindness. But, those who help Choose to Change find fulfillment in helping families who desperately need to change their lives!

We also had the chance to hear two stories of former convicts who shared how Choose to Change directly helped change their lives. Our amazing foundation and its members have seen incredible stories throughout the year. They continue to inspire us to keep fighting against fatherlessness due to incarceration.

In addition, we had an amazing time sharing with all our visitors what Choose to Change does. Oscar Cruz and Juan Pena also shared their stories how Choose to Change has helped them. It was moving to see a glimpse of the impact we've made. Their stories did two things for our visitors. For those we are mentoring, it gave them living proof of what's possible in our non-profit. Next, it gave visitors a view of the need we serve by giving men guidance on their journey to changing their lives.

After the presentation, we had food and refreshments thanks to our amazing sponsors. The amazing smoked BBQ chicken was catered by Tailgate Party Pitcrew. Also, Breadsmith provided delicious sweet bread for everyone to enjoy. We thank our supporters in helping us for our event!

We also had the support of Myra Rodriguez from Unite Us. In fact, Choose to Change and Unite Us has partnered together. Unite Us allow us to connect with other non-profits to better serve the needs of our members. You can learn more about Unite Us here.

If you're interested in helping Choose to Change further our vision, you can help us in three ways:

1. Attend our Choose to Change classes to better learn how we help the people we work with. As well, you can bring someone who would benefit from 1-on-1 mentoring to make better life decisions. Our classes are a great way to build relationships with our members and learn about their lives.

2. Sign up the be a volunteer on our upcoming 'Prison Invasion' events. This is a great way to get hands-on experiences in providing hope and inspiration that change is possible even if you're in prison. We show inmates that it is possible to change and leave their mistakes in the past. Members are always happy they attended knowing they make a difference in someone's life.

3. Lastly, you can donate to our organization. Financial contribution is the fastest and best way you can help us further our mission. We are a 100% non-profit organization that depends on the community to provide our services to convicts for free.

We're excited for all that God has in store for our organization. We want to once again thank our sponsors, our members, and amazing volunteers. They made our very first 'Choose to Change Awareness Event' a huge success. We look forward to the rest of 2021 as we continue fighting against fatherlessness.

Talk soon,

Orlando

CEO & Founder

Watch the Choose to Change Awareness Event presentation here