STUDENT TESTIMONIALS

“There are few things in prison that offer you an opportunity to grow, gain experience, and share your voice. Exchange for Change is that opportunity. The last few years of my incarnation can be measured in semesters. And at the end of every semester I look back at what I have accomplished and see my own transformation. I have written exceptional pieces of flash non fiction. I have critically analyzed what the core elements and fundamental truths are of a good commencement speech - then wrote and delivered my own. I studied the life of Nelson Mandela to gain insight into what made him a good leader so that I could emulate some of those qualities. And I’m just scratching the surface. I am indebted to everyone who makes Exchange for Change possible. Especially those who volunteer to come to prison week in and week out to teach me their craft. Thank You Everyone.

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“...I play with words all day like a child plays with a tablet. But trying to find the right words to describe, define, or explain the impact E4C has had in my life and the lives of others is mind boggling. It’s like a mother trying to paint a picture of the love she has for her child. It’s like asking a prisoner what the importance of freedom is.
I’ve seen many faces and many races attend these classes. I’ve seen friendships being made in a spot where trust no one is a mantra. I’ve seen men who were once so wrapped up in negativity open themselves up like gifts. Guys that now walk with their heads high and pep in their step because this program has made them do pull-ups over the low self esteem bar. Men that have been locked up for decades being enthusiastic about sharing their stories, about letting their words become fugitives escaping the monotony of their incarceration.
We spend most of our time staring at the world through are rearview, never looking forward. Now we spend it staring out the windshield, focused on the road ahead. A road that once never existed. E4C gives us drive, the kind of mental horse power that won’t let you ignore the engine. These writing classes have done for us what no one else has done, believe in us, and because of that we believe in ourselves. You’re given three life lines on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. As a Florida inmate stuck inside this prison system, this organization is the only life line most of us have...”

“In the two years that I have been a part of Exchange for Change, my love for writing has increased exponentially. E4C has provided and helped me polish many new skills allowing me the opportunity to have various personal literary works published. The sense of accomplishment of doing this while incarcerated is humbling and I am forever grateful. Through my writing, I have been able to explore more of myself and that self awareness has allowed me to mature psychologically, emotionally and socially. Yet what I have cherished the most is the interaction with volunteers, supporters, and exchange students. This is what has truly shown me that I can still be loved, and for that, I thank everyone that makes E4C happen.”

“Exchange for Change has become a beacon of hope in my life allowing me to realize that through writing I can accomplish so much more than I ever thought possible. I now have a portfolio of work that showcases my abilities in genres such as flash nonfiction, fantasy, sci-fi, fiction, and poetry. I am most proud that I now have fantasy novel halfway to completion.”

“E4C has given me the chance to participate in a program that keeps my mind from becoming idle. It has offered me the opportunity to do things I thought I would not be able to in prison: to continue my education and to pursue my passion of music and writing.”

“Thank you! And thank you, truly, for asking me to join your great program. My Life has truly been impacted by this experience. Like jumping in a river believing that its stillness is where its peace lies, emerging only to realize, the shock, the freezing cold, but returning whole. I see !!!”

“Exchange for Change is by far the best program in all of DOC. Almost every other program focuses on the imperatives (what I must do), however E4C shines through by helping inmates tackle the indicatives (who am I?). This makes E4C not only unique, but indispensable.”

“My growth from sapling editor to mature writer would not have been possible without the expert guidance, advice, and critiques every Exchange for Change volunteer tirelessly offered. They have been my sunlight and my rain, instilling in me the confidence to push beyond what I thought possible to what they knew was possible. Kathie and her team are the difference between days spent idly and days spent exploring vast forests of creativity and imagination.”

“During this pandemic I recognize two kinds of people that exist; those that care and those who don’t. That is just the way things have to be. But those that care have such an influence on me that I would still go out of my way even for those that don’t care. If there was any chance I could make a breakthrough, it. would be worth it. Exchange for Change has done that. They genuinely care about our education and try their very best to give us writers a chance at liberty to express in writing along with ways to improve. I never want to lose that. I love Exchange for Change.”

“E4C has opened the fates surrounding my mind even though physically I’m here; writing poems, memoirs and personal traumas has made me have better relationships with my children and members of my family. By making me feel comfortable to open up and share experiences that at one time I wouldn’t share.It’s taken myself and other inmates on a journey that without it we would never have had, by publishing 2 books of “Don’t Shake the Spoon” putting our thoughts on paper.E4C has become a source of prison therapy taking my words to another dimension from the tip of my pen, to eyes of freedom.”

“Exchange for Change profoundly changed my attitude toward myself. it was very therapeutic and changed my outlook of myself and brought to light all the pain I caused my family. We once did an exchange with a local highschool, and one of the responses I got spoke of this students negativity towards prison a and prisoners. until that student read my letter. the student said it brought tears to his eyes. He had no idea that prisoners could write so eloquently and that changed his perspective on those of us who are locked up. Which is part of what E4C is about, changing how society views the prison system and those living in it. I am fortunate and blessed to have E4C as an outlet for my creativity and expressing my thoughts when I don’t care to talk about them.”