The Connection

Volunteers gathered around tables piled with wrapping paper and looked at their individualized lists of children. Some of the volunteers have been participating for 15 years in the annual Offender Aid and Restoration (OAR) gift-wrapping event for the children of incarcerated individuals. Each child’s list has specific information on the age, gender and interests of the child along with individualized tags that have been signed by the parent. "The child recognizes their parent's handwriting and It means so much to see a special note from the incarcerated parent on their gift," said the Rev. Kathy Dwyer, OAR board member.

Gail Arnall, former executive director of OAR, says the OAR staff started wrapping gifts for the children of prisoners almost 25 years ago in the OAR office for about 25 children. On Dec. 16 about 150 volunteers planned to wrap 1,200 presents, three each for about 395 children. Tables lined the walls of St. Andrews Episcopal Church stacked high with Candyland, Tough Truck, Barbies and LEGO duplo sets, puzzles and basketballs marked by age groups.

Volunteers roamed through the tables checking their child's list, inspecting the Star Wars figure and the book about whales and deciding on a good mix of presents for their assigned child.

A teen heads back to the food table to grab another square of pepperoni pizza and a carrot, then back to the table. "Can I borrow the scissors?" "Hmmmm, does this piece of wrapping paper look big enough?" Scotch tape is applied liberally and then the gift is checked off on a master list in the corner of the room marked "delivery." OAR volunteers will personally take the packages to the homes of the children who live in Virginia, Maryland or D.C. If the children live out of the area, the packages are mailed. An OAR staff member said, "All of the packages will be taken to the post office tomorrow morning. They are opening early for us; we told them we will have hundreds of packages."

OAR was established in 1974 “by a local group of women from Arlington who volunteered in jails and saw a need for ongoing support of prisoners and ex-offenders who remained largely ignored and forgotten by society.” Today OAR offers assistance both pre-release and post-release customized to the needs and risk level of the individual. They offer life skills and education courses as well as evidence-based interventions pre-release. In addition, OAR provides emergency needs assistance for individuals immediately following their release including food, transportation, housing and clothing services. OAR serves individuals and families of individuals incarcerated and/or returning from incarceration to Arlington County or the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church.