Kiwanis Vilella

Parenting Advocate :: January 2025

You are carrying on the spirit of Sullivan Ballou by radiating heart energy through your activities and simply by your warm, calm presence. Your volunteer work has been a mainstay of Children of Incarcerated Caregivers. You are a facilitator of the Caregiver Council, a support group for people raising youth with an incarcerated caregiver. You are a member of the Policy Team for Parental Incarceration & Children’s Human Rights, a project CIC is leading at the University of Minnesota. You were a keynote speaker at CIC’s fall fundraising luncheon.

Most important, you model the loving, engaged parenting that CIC hopes to support. As a single parent while the mother of your two sons is incarcerated, you provide your sons a rich, fun childhood full of activities and opportunities. You are raising them to be good men who are in touch with their emotions. You are spreading your heart energy into the broader community.

You promote peace and health by working as a violence interrupter on the streets of the Twin Cities. We understand that you are always willing to take a call from the young people you mentor, and we imagine that you are a father-figure to many young men.

Congratulations!
Elissa and Bruce Peterson, Founding Members

Sullivan Ballou letter