Helping ex-offenders achieve successful reentry into society

Marta Orozco and Volunteer, Katya Sotomayor

Riverside House’s Dessert Nights is an ongoing initiative that began some years back and recently surfaced again in July 2010.  This fund raising event is designed to introduce Riverside House graduates to the community that supported them while they were in the program.  Additionally, the introductions serve to create long-term relationships between the graduates and the community.

With three events underway, all have collectively raised monetary donations as well as numerous in-kind donations such as clothing, household goods, and toiletries.  Many of those who attended the events also made commitments to volunteer with Riverside House as chaplains, clerical workers, heads of program activities, etc.

The next Dessert Night will be held Saturday, April 2, 2011 at 6PM at Riverside House.  For more information and/or if you are interested in hosting a future dessert night, please contact Marta Orozco at (305) 326-9799 x109.

Maria Alonso,Cleve Bell,Gene Schaefer,Thea Goldman

In October Mr. Cleveland Bell III, executive director of Riverside House, was awarded as a recipient of Bank of America’s 2010 Neighborhood Excellence Initiative Awards in the Local Hero category. The awards honored 13 individuals in four different categories. Recipients of the awards are individuals who improve Miami’s community and make the city a better place.

As noted by Brian Moynihan, CEO and President of Bank of America, in the event’s program, “At Bank of America, we combine our resources, expertise and partnerships to strengthen the communities we serve, acting as an economic engine to help set opportunity in motion. By investing in outstanding community leaders through our Neighborhood Excellence Initiative, we are helping make local communities better places to live, work and do business.”

Gene Schaefer,Octavia Kearney,Cleve Bell,Evelys Ubiera,Peggy Gaines

Congratulations on your accomplishments, Mr. Bell!

Join First United Methodist Church of Coral Gables, Florida as it hosts an exciting guest, Mike Slaughter and Discovery Fair event on Wednesday, March 23, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. Guest speaker, Mike Slaughter, will be speaking about ways to recapture Jesus’ mission to reach out to the world around us in God’s love.  Attendees will be encouraged to seek volunteerism opportunities from over 18 social service organizations represented, one being Riverside House!  For more information regarding the event’s details, please click here.

Mike Slaughter

Mike Slaughter, lead pastor at Ginghamsburg Church, is the three-decade dreamer of Ginghamsburg and the spiritual entrepreneur of ministry marketplace innovations. His life-long passion to reach the lost and set the oppressed free has now made him a tireless and leading advocate for the children, women and men of Darfur, Sudan, named by the U.N. as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today. Mike’s call to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted will challenge attendees to wrestle with God and their God-destinies.

When Mike arrived at Ginghamsburg Church in 1979, worship attendance hovered at 90 with 118 members and an annual budget of $27,000. Now, 4000 attendees on average worship weekly at Ginghamsburg and the multi-million dollar budget helps resource a faith community committed to serving the poor, lost and disenfranchised.

“Rehabilitation with Dignity” was a dream of Roberto Perez, a lay preacher; Reverend O. Dean Martin, Pastor of the Riverside United Methodist Church; and Jack Sandstrom, Director of the Dade Community Correction and Rehabilitation Department. Together, they envisioned a halfway house that offered the means for those with a first-time offense the opportunity to rebuild their lives.

Cleveland Bell III

Cleveland Bell III became Executive Director of Riverside House in July of 1977. As a former ex-offender, Mr. Bell was no stranger to the feelings of frustration, anger, and rebellion often felt by those with similar backgrounds. Through the continuous outpouring of Mr. Bell’s personal life experiences with fellow men and women, and, the dedicated, hard work of staff and Board members, the ministry of Riverside House has reached thousands of ex-offenders through jail groups, out-client participation, prison outreach, and inner-city activities.

Today, Riverside House is a private, non-profit organization that has been successfully operating as a coed community residential reentry facility for over 35 years.

Mr. Cleveland Bell III

On Sunday, March 20, 2011, Mr. Cleveland Bell III, Executive Director of Riverside House will be presenting report information regarding the impact church member contributions have made  to the organization.  This will be a wonderful opportunity to hear about the endeavors set in motion through the generous giving of one of Riverside House’s long-standing donors, Central Presbyterian Church.  Come hear and support Mr. Bell as he speaks at 9 and 11 a.m. respectively.  For the event’s address,  please click here.

Riverside House, established in 1973, is a non-profit, faith based organization assisting ex-offenders to re-enter society successfully, and serving the Miami-Dade county community to reduce crime and make neighborhoods safer for the last 39 years.

Central Presbyterian Church was founded on May 15, 1927, as a mission project of First Presbyterian Church, Miami on Brickell Avenue.  The church is led by the Reverend Jonathan T. Swanson and its vision is to know God; grow in God; go with God.

If you are interested in hosting Mr. Bell as a guest speaker at your next business/fund raising event, business meeting, church service/event, please click here.

Come and participate!  Riverside House will be hosting a time of prayer in preparation for the upcoming Weekend of Champions evangelistic outreach event to several Dade/Broward prisons and jails August 27-29, 2009.  We will be meeting the second and fourth Wednesday of every month at Riverside House located at 968 N.W. 2 Street, Miami, Fl 33128.  If you would like to be a part of affecting change in the lives of thousands of inmates, and praying for a powerful outreach to occur through Weekend of Champions, then this is for you!!!  For more information, please contact Yvette Forbes, Chaplain, at 305-326-9799 ext 104 / yforbes@riverside-house.org.

Riverside House, a non-profit, faith-based, residential reentry center, assists Federal offenders in achieving successful reentry into society after incarceration.  Established in 1972, it became the first in the nation to experiment with the rehabilitation of ex-offenders.  Today, Riverside House is a co-ed 80 bed residential reentry center that provides a  holistic approach towards the offender which is accomplished by its vision and mission statement: “Riverside Christian Ministries, Inc. exist to guide people convicted of crime into becoming productive citizens.  This will be accomplished by Community Based Reentry, Community Outreach, Pastoral Care, and Aftercare/Outpatient Services.”

Cleveland Bell III, Executive Director

Cleveland Bell III became Executive Director of Riverside House in 1977.  As a former ex-offender, Mr. Bell was no stranger to the feelings of frustration, anger, and rebellion often felt by those with similar backgrounds.  Over the past 37 plus years through the continuous outpouring of Mr. Bell’s personal life experiences with fellow men and women, and the dedicated, hard work of staff and Board members, the ministry of Riverside House has reached thousands of ex-offenders through jail groups, out-client participation, prison outreach, and inner city activities.

Bill Glass Teammate Volunteers

Started in 1969 as the Bill Glass Evangelistic Association by founder Bill Glass, the Ministry of Champions for Life evolved from a small City-Wide crusade ministry to the world’s largest evangelistic prison ministry that now includes one of the most effective youth outreach ministries in the country.  Over the last 35 plus years, Bill Glass and Champions for Life have shared the Gospel of Jesus in thousands of towns, cities, churches, prisons, jails and youth facilities across the United States and several foreign countries.  Their mission statement is to: “Assist the church by equipping and igniting Christians to share their faith in Jesus Christ with the ‘least of these’”.  Prior to founding Champions for Life, Bill Glass made a name for himself as one of the most outstanding football players in the National Football League.  He was a consensus All American at Baylor University .  Working with his life-long friend, Dr. Bill Bright, he helped establish the Campus Crusade for Christ chapter on the Baylor Campus.   He was a member of the 1964 Cleveland Browns team who beat the Baltimore Colts to win the NFL World Championship one year prior to the first Super Bowl. Four – time All Pro and College and Texas Sports Hall of Fame were some of Bill’s athletic credentials. He finally retired in 1969 after 22 yrs in amateur and professional football without missing a work out or game.

Platform Guest Speaker, NFL Player

Get ready and sign up today!!!  Weekend of Champions is back for a second year starting August 27-29, 2009 in Miami, Florida. Riverside House will collaborate with Jack “Murf the Surf” Murphy and Bill Glass Champions for Life Ministries to host the Weekend of Champions event.  The Weekend of Champions, under Champions for Life’s prison ministry, takes a group of professional athletes and entertainers into the prisons of America, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and South Africa in an attempt to reach inmates who normally never set foot in the prison chapel.  The organization spends two days in five to 15 separate institutions simultaneously in any given geographical area.  In addition to the athletes and entertainers, the organization also relies on the help of volunteers known as the Bill Glass “Teammates”.  Each volunteer’s participation is vital to the Ministry as these individuals spend each day with the inmates, visiting, encouraging and sharing one-on-one.  Riverside House is currently seeking men and women of God to participate in this exciting weekend either as a volunteer or as a financial donor.  Volunteers can make a difference by signing up as a teammate to minister in prisons, as well as a host of other volunteers to help make the weekend a success.  For more information on volunteering for Weekend of Champions, please call Ms Forbes at (305) 326-9799 x104 or visit www.billglasschampionsforlife.org.  Persons may also send monetary donations towards the cost of the event, which is $10,000.  Please make check payable to “Champions for Life” and please include in the “memo” of the check: “Miami Event”.  Check should be mailed to: Champions for Life, P.O. Box 761101, Dallas, TX 75376.

Jack Murphy

Jack “Murph the Surf” Murphy, known for committing what has been called the “Jewel Robbery of the Century”, lifted more than $2million in gems from the J.P. Morgan collection in New York City.  While serving 21 years in prison for the jewel heist and other serious crimes, Murf met Bill Glass, former All Pro football player and founder of Champions for Life.  That encounter and a decision to follow Christ changed Murf’s life for eternity.  Upon his release in 1985, Murf soon returned to prison, this time as a featured platform guest, speaking to inmates about his 21 years behind bars and boldy proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus.  A regular on Christian TV and radio, Murf has been a guest on CNN’s Larry King Live.  He is an accomplished painter, musician and author of his book Jewels for the Journey.  In 1997, for his lifetime achievement, he was inducted into the Surfing Legends Hall of Fame.  Now living in Crystal River, Florida with his wife, Kitten, Jack is the International Director for the Dallas based Champions for Life Ministries.

Bill Glass

Started in 1969 as the Bill Glass Evangelistic Association by founder Bill Glass, the Ministry of Champions for Life evolved from a small City-Wide crusade ministry to the world’s largest evangelistic prison ministry that now includes one of the most effective youth outreach ministries in the country.  Over the last 35 plus years, Bill Glass and Champions for Life have shared the Gospel of Jesus in thousands of towns, cities, churches, prisons, jails and youth facilities across the United States and several foreign countries.  Their mission statement is to: “Assist the church by equipping and igniting Christians to share their faith in Jesus Christ with the ‘least of these’”.  Prior to founding Champions for Life, Bill Glass made a name for himself as one of the most outstanding football players in the National Football League.  He was a consensus All American at Baylor University .  Working with his life-long friend, Dr. Bill Bright, he helped establish the Campus Crusade for Christ chapter on the Baylor Campus.   He was a member of the 1964 Cleveland Browns team who beat the Baltimore Colts to win the NFL World Championship one year prior to the first Super Bowl. Four – time All Pro and College and Texas Sports Hall of Fame were some of Bill’s athletic credentials. He finally retired in 1969 after 22 yrs in amateur and professional football without missing a work out or game.

To read more, download the entire Riverside Today Newsletter!

Riverside House will host its Sixth Annual Second Chances Fundraiser at the First United Methodist Church of Coral Gables, 536 Coral Way.  The fee to attend the breakfast event is $20, which will directly benefit Riverside House’s Pastoral Care Program.

This year’s guest speaker is Jack Murphy.  Once infamous for committing what has been called the “Jewel Robbery of the Century,” Murphy stole more than $2 million in gems from the J.P. Morgan collection in 1964. While serving 21 years in prison for the jewel heist and other serious crimes, Murphy met Bill Glass, founder of Champions for Life.  This encounter changed his life and upon his release from prison, Murphy began speaking in prisons to boldly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus.  He is an accomplished painter,musician and author of the book, Jewels for the Journey.  He is the International Director for Champions for Life Ministries. We are thrilled to welcome him to this year’s fundraiser breakfast.

The goal of our fundraising event is to raise community awareness and to continue to fulfill Riverside House’s vision and mission of guiding people who have served their debt to society into becoming productive citizens.  One such way we carry out this vision and mission is through our Pastoral Care Program. We offer individuals who are imprisoned in mind or spirit a place of refuge while providing life sustaining spiritual and social guidance.  To accomplish this, we give them a non-denominational introduction to a God who will forgive them of their wrongs, love them unconditionally and transform their lives.  The success of this annual fundraising event is a critical component to our Pastoral Care Program as the monies raised directly fund on-going spiritual discipleship, additional spiritual conferences, and the development of a men-to-men mentoring program.  Your contributions will aid this mentoring program to be the vehicle that will grow the Aftercare/ Outpatient Services component of Riverside House’s vision and mission statement.

For more information and to RSVP, please contact Carmen Bell, fundraiser coordinator, at cjbell@riverside-house.org or 305-326-9799 ext. 113.