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| Probationers earn points by helping kids |
| By seguingazette.com |
| Published: 03/27/2009 |
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By Felicia Frazar The Gazette-Enterprise Published March 27, 2009 SEGUIN — Adults who are on probation have been given an opportunity to make up a few of their community service hours by giving something back to the community. Guadalupe County Community Supervision and Corrections Department Director, Victoria Trinidad said they are offering a small alternative to the people on probation to work off a few of their service hours. “We are offering the people on probation the opportunity to help the community, those that have been identified by the Hispanic Chamber, in providing them with Easter baskets,” she said. “What we allow the offenders to do is if they spend $5 on an [Easter] basket they can exchange that for one hour of community service for up to $75 and they have to provide us with a proof of purchase.” With Easter just around the corner, the probation office has collected 240 baskets and they still have more to come. Although it may sound like they are buying their hours, Trinidad assures that they are not getting a free ride. “Some offenders are required to do about 1,000 hours,” she said. “So with them getting three hours they still need to do all of their other work — where they paint, clean move, furniture, do carpentry work, clean streets — so I don’t people to think that they are getting off easy. They also have to be in good standing with their probation, up-to-date on their fees and restitution and any other financial responsibilities they have.” Trinidad said that the offenders are not taking this task lightly. “It is awesome for me when I go out into our waiting room and I see a big guy sitting there with two little Easter baskets on his lap, it is just awesome,” she said. “And they take it so seriously.” There are three ways that the baskets are being brought in, Trinidad said — handcrafted, handmade and handpicked. “Some are done where they will make their own Easter baskets and some will put them together and others are just bought baskets that are already put together,” she said. “So there is a combination. We had one gentleman bring in all of these cascarones (confetti eggs).” Admitting that the she got the idea from another county, Trinidad said she had confidence that the results would be the same here. It is modeled after a similar program where probationers earn hours by participating in a coat drive for children in the community. “I heard about it from Travis County’s adult probation office and they had such an overwhelming response, I thought we can do that here, too,” she said. “So we implemented the ‘Coats For Kids’ during December and January. We are using that same model for the Easter baskets and it has been very, very successful.” No matter where the idea came from it is the thought that counts, Trinidad said. “Some people bring more than they need to because they really get into the spirit of what it is meant to give to the community,” she said. “This is a way for them to give to the community. All the way around it helps the community, it helps them and it helps our office in developing a positive relationship with the community, so it is all around a win-win situation for us.” Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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