Partakers is Shining-Our Summer Newsletter

Dear Friends,

 Hard to believe that summer is here. We hope you are well and safe despite the heated temperatures and headlines.

 As the new season shines, so does Partakers. We are welcoming wonderful new mentors to our community and celebrating the graduation of many of our College Behind Bars students.

While we know this is a tumultuous time, we also know that our work matters more than ever, and seeing the achievements of our College Behind Bars and PEP Reentry graduates lights our way forward and sparks our determination to reach and support as many folks impacted by incarceration as possible. Despite the chaos of this moment, Partakers is focused, working each day to build on our success and ensure that we are supporting real change in very real ways-one amazing student-mentor relationship at a time.

As one of our long-time Mentors reminds us:

"Partakers changes people's lives...when you change one person's life, you change their family, and it ripples out to their communities."

At Partakers, we believe in those ripples. We could not be more proud of our students and Mentors, or of the bridges we are building to foster long-term relationships and strong, committed communities centered on heart.

 We are humbled that our work is being recognized. We are so honored to have received a multi-year grant from The Cummings Foundation. and to be included in the company of 150 amazing non-profits throughout Commonwealth of Massachusetts doing important work each day to change lives and communities. This is the second time Partakers' work has been recognized by the Cummings Foundation. This multi-year opportunity will allow us to plan forward and collaborate with more colleges and reentry programs to support students inside and those navigating the fraught journey home upon reentry. This will also allow us to dive deeper into our work, collect data, evaluate programming, analyze our success, and work from our community out to create a long-term strategic plan.

Yes, we have been at this for over 27 years, but we recognize as the world moves rapidly forward, we need to be prepared to meet the many challenges ahead. Despite a fast-moving world, however, one thing remains true and at the core of what we do-Mentors Matter! Long-term Community Engagement Matters! and the Power of Lives Transformed -Matters!

Our unique relational model supports incarcerated students and folks returning home. We are building opportunities to change the trajectory of their lives, their families, and their communities. In the process, we are also building vital bridges between communities and transforming the lives of our Mentors as well.

We simply could not do this vital work without your friendship and support.

 Thank you for always being here for us!

Arthur Bembury, Executive Director