The Johnson County Community Corrections building on Hospital Road in Franklin. Offenders on work release recently volunteered in the community as part of a community work day.
Daily Journal File Photo
Offenders on work release are making a difference within Johnson County by taking part in community work days.
Once a month, Johnson County Community Corrections offenders who are on work release have an opportunity to volunteer in local communities as part of a Community Work Day. Last month, offenders volunteered at Greater Harvest Food Bank in Whiteland and two Franklin parks.
At Greater Harvest Food Pantry in New Whiteland on Feb. 18, offenders assisted staff in setting up a warehouse in preparation for filling shopping carts with donated food to be given out to residents who needed a little extra help with providing food for themselves or their families. Once a cart was full, the offenders pushed them outside in chilly weather to be placed in residents’ vehicles. They even helped clean up afterward, said Melissa Rojas, director of operations for the pantry.
“They’re amazing. They did a great, great job,” Rojas said. “We are so thankful for the partnership.”
This was the first time offenders from the work release program volunteered their time for the drive-thru food pantry, said Angela Morris, director of Johnson County Court Services and chief probation officer.
“The offenders were impressed with the amount of food that is donated by different businesses and organizations,” she said via email. “A few of the offenders have been to this event in the past and now see what it takes to donate food to those needing assistance. The staff welcomed the offenders even with the different circumstances taking place in their lives today.”
Food bank staff were so impressed with the work ethic each offender showed that the staff invited them back on March 18, and all the offenders were more than happy to accept their offer, Morris said.
Greater Harvest Food Pantry was pleased with the work the offenders did on March 18 as well. Rojas hopes the offenders come back to help at the food pantry next month, and every month after, she said Monday.
Having the extra help is very beneficial, especially on Saturdays when the drive-thru pantry average between 150 to 200 families, Rojas said.
“Regardless of where they’re from, we’re just grateful for them,” she said. “From having just a couple of volunteers to having a couple plus 15 more able-bodied people. That’s amazing in the nonprofit world.”
On Feb. 19, a group of offenders went to Franklin’s Blue Heron Park to pick up trash at the park. Once this was done, they then traveled to Province Park to pick up trash, she said.
Toward the end of the work day, Morris held a competition to see who could pick up as many fallen tree limbs as possible and bring them to a central location. The team with the most fallen limbs would be awarded a prize.
“All the groups did an amazing job in grabbing armloads of tree limbs,” Morris said.
This was not the first time work release offenders have helped out Franklin’s parks department. Last November, they painted the inside of the bathhouses at the Franklin Family Aquatic Center, said Nathan Brown, parks operations director.
Brown did not expect them to finish the bathhouses that day, but they did, he said Monday.
“It was kind of a big project, and they knocked everything out,” Brown said. “They did a good job. It all looked good.”
All of the work benefited the department. If community corrections were to reach out again about volunteering, Brown would definitely try to find them more work to do, he said.
“The two times have been good experiences,” he said. “It’s helped us out every time they’ve done it.”
The community day is a wonderful program, and the offenders are giving back to the families of Johnson County and making a difference in people’s lives, Rojas said.
“If they reach out to any other nonprofit organization, (the organization) should jump at the chance of having them help them,” she said.
