I met a man today who spent 5 1/2 years sitting in a single man cell… where he was allowed outside only 1 hour per day.

Five and a half years … that’s how old my first daughter was when I began this job. I could not imagine spending her entire life locked up 23 hours out of every day.

When he was released, he was marked for death by rivals of his old gang. He had to restart a whole new life in a city where he’d never lived, beginning with $50 in his pocket.

And yet… thanks to PEP, this man was full of more hope and love and faith than the vast majority of people I have ever met, incarcerated or otherwise.

He is now the manager of not one, but TWO businesses.

He is the father to three children.

Tomorrow is his one-year wedding anniversary.

Today is his 40th birthday.

And yet he spent it sharing his story with prospective PEP volunteers and donors.

Every day is a gift, my friends. Every single day.