Donations encouraged for jail outreach program

In the last year, Chelsea-based nonprofit Heavenly Smile has added another element to their prison outreach program: handing out toiletry bags to the Shelby County Jail work-release program. 

Heavenly Smile Director Kim Bradley has been a chaplain for female inmates at local jails for about nine years. A couple times a month, she and a few volunteers from Heavenly Smile go to the Shelby County Jail to hand out Bibles and minister for several hours. When they saw a need in the work-release program, they gathered donations and started to help distribute needed toiletries monthly. 

“If anybody wanted to help, that’s what we have started raising public awareness about, to fill those bags,” Bradley said. 

Heavenly Smile is a faith-based nonprofit that primarily works in local food pantry needs in Chelsea, in addition to their prison outreach ministries.

The nonprofit is in need of hygiene items, both travel and full-sized, such as menstrual products, body wash, shampoo, deodorant, lotion, toothpaste and toothbrushes. Bradley said they are most in need of body wash, which they prefer over soap. Their goal is to prepare at least 60 bags of toiletries every month or so.

Bradley said they are only allowed to give out items to the work-release program because items that come through the jail have to be specially vetted. She also added that Heavenly Smile is always welcoming new volunteers to minister to inmates.

“I just believe there are a lot of people that filter through the jail system, and sometimes they just need to get a connection,” she said. “We are a faith-based nonprofit, so of course, our belief is everyone needs Jesus.”

Each time they go to visit the inmates, they spend a few hours in a Bible study setting at the common area of the facility, where they talk about their faith and sometimes sing worship songs. Bradley said inmates get to decide if they attend or not, but they usually have good participation. 

Longtime Heavenly Smile volunteer and Shelby County Board of Education member Peg Hill has been ministering in the Shelby County Jail on and off for 30 years.

“Since I retired, I’ve had time to go back to the Shelby County jail ministry, which is my love,” she said.

Because she is a former principal in the area, she even occasionally sees former students.

“I just see it like if I didn’t get a chance to help while I was a principal, I have another chance while they’re incarcerated,” she said, adding that she sees it as a continuing service to those in need in the community.

Twice a year, the jail will host orientations, once in spring and once in fall, where people can get trained for half a day in order to be able to minister to inmates. They must submit an application to work in the jail ministry and pass the background check. 

“We don’t focus on what they’ve done to get there. We focus on forgiveness and restoration available to inmates just as it was and is available to each of us,” Bradley said.

Hill added, “We don’t come in pointing a finger, because we all commit sin. It’s just that our sins are just not against the laws of the land that put you behind bars. Ours are just against God’s laws. So there’s not one of us that’s innocent.”

Each year, they also do a special Christmas gathering, which Bradley said includes about 500 inmates. They give each person a brown bag of snack cakes, in addition to serving milk, orange juice and tea, while chaplains from multiple service groups come in to socialize for a couple hours. Bradley said it’s an important part of the year, and they ask for donations of money and snack cakes in advance.

“It’s just a fun time. We don’t really preach or teach that night, we just try to encourage them and remind them Christmas is just one day designated by man. Every day, we can have Jesus, not just on his designated birthday,” Hill said.

Hill said providing this Christmas service to inmates each year can cost several thousands of dollars, so they appreciate all the people that donate to them, including the grocery stores that give them bulk cut rates, the various church groups and Birmingham sweets places like Bud’s Best Cookies.

“We already know that they’re going to be sad and a little bit heartbroken that they aren’t going to be with their families. We do [the gathering] very close to Christmas, and we try to go in and just encourage them and laugh with them a little bit,” Bradley said. 

The only time Heavenly Smile takes in food is for the Christmas gathering.

Hill said they always need more volunteers and encourages people to call and fill out an application at the Shelby County Jail.

Drop off money or item donations at the Heavenly Smile facility at 1800 County Road 39. For more information about volunteering, call Heavenly Smile at 678-6603 or email at info@heavenlysmileinc.com.