Donations

I retired not too long ago and was looking for worthwhile volunteer opportunities to fill some of my newly found free time. I’m very glad that I made the connection with the Ad Deum Group. It is on of the most spiritually fulfilling things I have ever done.

If one can understand why people behave as they do then often the road to forgiveness is opened. Not only is forgiveness essential for the health of Society, it is also vital for our personal well-being. Bitterness is like a cancer that enters the soul. It does more harm to those that hold it than to those whom it is held against.

From the very beginning of the series of events that took place with the incarceration of your son until the end, you wonder how you made it through. Now looking back 4 years later with our experience, it took a lot of prayer and reconditioning our minds not to think of the worst. Knowing that support groups like Ad Deum were there for him made a big difference.

Participating in the Ad Deum Programs has helped me to gain a greater perspective on myself and how I’ve contributed to my situation and my life... Through listening to the stories of other prisoners and volunteers and sharing my own story I have reached a place in my head that before was pretty buried and unreachable. Each time I come away with a sense of hope for myself and my life that before I had definitely been without. . . I realize I’m valuable, worth saving and worth the continued effort.

I began volunteering a few years ago. Why? Because I love the way it feels to be able to serve/help others, especially those who have a true need. Both prisoners and victims of crime need our support, Both in and out of prison.

I've never felt as deeply appreciated as when volunteering with prisoners and victims of crime. To be a part of something that really delivers where the rubber hits the road is remarkable.

For his future I just hope for the same things all moms hope for their children, and that is that he finds good work and meets a great woman to share his life with. I hope he will have happiness and peace the rest of his days on earth. Thanks Ad Deum for being there and helping him understand and believe that he too is one of God’s children.

This letter is to say thank you because the Ad Deum Foundation has helped me so much. I still have a lot of time to do here, but one day I will walk out of here a new man, with a better outlook on life. My life means something now. I may not be the man I want to be yet, but I am not the man I used to be.

I have come to believe passionately in restorative justice. I knew that if I didn’t forgive, anger and bitterness would turn me into a person my daughter would not have liked.

I’ve always had a problem with forgiving people but I’ve learned how important it is to forgive in the Ad Deum Programs. I’ve learned how to respect and treat people the way I wanted to be treated. I’ve learned how to open up and talk to someone about any problem I might have.

The books we have read together as a group in Ad Deum and the fellowship and discussions with the volunteers and other inmates have made me realize I must do something about myself before I will ever be able to be half the father I wanted as a child. I would just like to say thank you for the hope.