2023 World Relief Campaign

The Community Change Center has been selected for the 2023 World Relief Campaign, organized annually for Valparaiso University by the Social Action Leadership Team (SALT). The Community Change Center is an organization based in Gary, Indiana and provides reentry services to individuals throughout Northwest Indiana during and after their incarceration. Volunteers at the Community Change Center facilitate a weekly reentry group in our local prison and offer community-based transitional living, adult education, Unity Cafe, mentoring, case management, and community meals to individuals post-incarceration. This nonprofit uses a restorative justice framework to create community-centered services for those currently incarcerated, previously incarcerated, or/and experiencing homelessness. 

Currently, the Community Change Center runs exclusively on volunteers, which limits the scope of services. Our campaign entitled “Redefining Reentry: Opportunities for Redemption” is working to raise $25,000 in an effort to fund a full year of programming at the Community Change Center and a part-time Program Manager. Under the programming budget, the funding will allow housing managers to move into the two transitional houses in Gary, IN. With housing managers, the Community Change Center can begin housing other community members experiencing housing instability.