The Oregon Story

The Oregon Story

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By Paid in Full

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Dear PiFO Supporter,

Over the last few months, I have had the privilege to travel to Boston, MA, Frankfort, KY, and Lincoln, NE to help in fulfilling the mission of an organization I’m involved in, Prison Seminaries Foundation (PSF).  PSF was founded and is led by Burl Cain, who is the retired warden of the Louisiana Penitentiary at Angola and the current Commissioner of the Department of Corrections in Mississippi. PSF is dedicated to establishing a faith-based college degree program in at least one prison in each of our 50 states. Burl was the primary influencer of this mission which is now being fulfilled in Oregon through Paid in Full Oregon.

My role with PSF has been to join Burl in meeting with the heads of the departments of corrections in other states and to encourage them to start transformative education programs. I do this by sharing the success story of Paid in Full Oregon. All three states that we recently visited, (KY, MA, and NE) are now beginning the groundwork for implanting transformative college degree programs in their prison systems.

What is happening in Oregon with PiFO is part of a national movement to change the culture of the prison system throughout our country. One of the greatest enemies of an inmate in prison is lack of hope. Transformative education, like that being provided by PiFO, is bringing hope to the hopeless.

The start of classes for our third cohort has been delayed to January of 2022. COVID has brought many challenges to PiFO in Oregon and other programs across our nation. But God has provided a way here in Oregon and the other 22 states. 

Without your prayer and financial support, our students at the Corban Extension in the Oregon State Correctional Institution would not be hearing the powerful message of hope. Thank you on behalf of Corban University, PiFO, and our students.

Ever grateful,

tom-kohl-signature

Tom Kohl
Executive Director and Founder
503.799.0342