Greenville College Honored at Annual Greenville Federal Correctional Institution Volunteer Banquet
Published: April 13, 2021
The Greenville Federal Correctional Institution held their annual volunteer appreciation banquet Thursday, April 15th. Dozens of people were recognized for their commitment and dedication to serving the inmates at the Greenville FCI. Greenville College was among those honored, with Dr. Kent Dunnington accepting an award on behalf of the many volunteers from the College that assist in the education program at the FCI.
Since the beginning of the school year, Dunnington has led an average of 20 GC students in a volunteer program which offers weekly support to the Greenville FCI. The volunteers are currently engaged in three different projects. Most are involved on a weekly basis tutoring inmates towards the completion of their GED's. Several of the female volunteers also offer an "Art and Ethics" class every week to a group of female inmates out at "the Camp" (the female minimum security prison). Finally, approximately 8 of the male volunteers play chess against the members of a chess class offered at the prison every several weeks.
While Dunnington highlights all of his volunteers as "terrific," he was also able to determine a few standouts. Steph Plant, a 2009 Greenville graduate, is largely responsible for organizing the art class at the Camp.Senior Sara Miller and sophomore Kelly Baker also teach that class, and all three have been very diligent and thoughtful throughout the process. In addition, Dunnington recently discovered that Jamie Harling and Michael Trapp, a freshmen and sophomore at GC, have been volunteering not once, but twice a week.Dunnington maintains that the dedication of each volunteer has "made the whole thing a joyful undertaking."
Both Dunnington and the GC students feel blessed with the opportunity to spread and experience God's love at the FCI. It is their desire to make a concrete statement with their presence that these people remain part of our community, and that they have not been forgotten by us. Through the relationships they have formed with the inmates, they are slowly achieving that goal. One inmate, who plays with the chess group, told Dunnington: "When you all were here, I forgot for a little while that I was in prison."
While the students are not under the illusion that they are changing the face of prison education in America, their own sense of the beauty and the scope of the human community has been deeply enriched by this work. They may not change the world, but they are taking big steps to change their world.
