GRAMBLING STATE UNIVERSITY
MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
GRAMBLING, LOUISIANA
(318) 274-2560
(318) 274-3330 FAX
mediarelations@gram.edu
For Immediate Release: November 21, 2008
GSU criminal justice professor coordinates prison bike refurbishment operation
GRAMBLING-----GSU Criminal Justice Professor Delilah Dotremon was attending an awards dinner at the David Wade Correction Center in Homer more than a year ago and was struck by the glee on the faces of lifetime inmates – “lifers” -- who had repaired three bicycles.
The inmates were happy because the bikes they refurbished would be given to needy children for Christmas, but at the same time they lamented the fact that they did not have more bikes to repair. That very night, Dr. Dotremon devised a plan. She placed an ad in a local newspaper, asking the public to take their old bicycles to the Grambling State University Police Department and the Ruston Police Department so they could be repaired by the Lifers and donated.
Last year, 125 bikes were delivered to the correctional facility’s Lifer’s Association by the GSU Criminal Justice Club, where they were refurbished and donated to area Boys and Girls Clubs of America in time for Christmas. This year, Dotremon said she hopes the program will be even more successful. The public can drop off bikes to the Grambling State University Police Department at 100 Main St. or the Ruston Police Department at 401 North Trenton St.
“These men are paying their debt to society for the mistakes they made,” Dotremon said. “And the fact that they are able to give back to needy children at Christmas and see the joy on their faces may make these men understand that they, too, have something to offer.”
Call Dotremon at (318) 274-3408 for more information.
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