One of the things that attracted me to volunteer with College Guild was their values. They matched mine and I thought that would make for a good fit. And the nearly 3 years I have spent as a volunteer have proven that to be true!
For more than 20 years College Guild has followed their guiding principles to carry out their mission. You can find those right on their website, but I’ll give you an overview.
Offering the service for free is their ongoing process. I love that. I only wish there were more free education for everyone around the country. But, with this offering, it is vital that it always be free. In addition, it is inclusive and no one is excluded due to sex, race, religion, crime or sentence. And because they are an independent non-profit, they do not take direction from a church, government or official organization. They are responsible to their students and volunteers, and making sure all interchanges are conducted with dignity and respect is always foremost!
Another important factor in the success of College Guild is that in being non-accedited this allows the program to grow and develop to best serve those taking the classes. Lots of other options for prisoners are not available to everyone. This is and no outside organization is telling them what to do and how to do it. After 20 years of success, they are the experts and it has developed both for volunteers like me, and the students in the prisons required steps and classes that to provide the students with encouragement and worth. But, don’t be mistaken in thinking that they are not professional because of that non-accreditation! Professionalism is required for the success of the program, and that is carried out in all dealings with students and volunteers!
Steph Garber
“You cannot keep birds from flying over your head
but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair”
― Martin Luther

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