January 2026 Newsletter

4th Annual Art from the Inside Out Art Show!

Our fourth annual Art from the Inside Out art show is coming up soon! This free show features the incredible artwork of current and formerly incarcerated artists. The reception is February 6th at 6 pm at Public Space One (538 S Gilbert St, Iowa City, IA) and art will be on display from February 3rd-14th (See our website for more information.) Attendees will have the opportunity to gather and build support for artists impacted by incarceration. You do not want to miss this show!

Nezzy_Conway

Anonymous Artist

“Refreshed” and Mindful

In January we hosted a 2-session refresher group for those who completed our Acceptance Commitment Training (ACT) group in 2025. Six attended and discussed how they’ve utilized ACT, and how to continue using the skills learned in their daily life moving forward. Thank you to volunteers Dorothy Whiston and Andy Winkelmann for creating this group. We look forward to holding our 6-week full session again in March-April.

Chili and Cheers for our End of Year Game Night

On December 19th, over 35 of us got together for our quarterly game night. Neil led the group in bingo and trivia, and thanks to our incredible volunteers and staff we had an awesome meal with homemade chili and all the fixings. Returning from incarceration can be a time of stress, so we are grateful for these opportunities to celebrate and share joy! And thank you to One Ancient Hope for letting us use their fellowship Hall for the event.

If your church or community group would like to serve a meal at one of our game nights in 2026 please contact us at [email protected].

Awards, Celebration, and Gratitude

On Wednesday, January 14th we celebrated our amazing volunteers at our annual Volunteer Appreciation Night. We enjoyed pizza, sweet treats, friendship, and Neil’s famous trivia questions (What do you know about President Taft and the years of his presidency?). Ten volunteers received awards for their wonderful example of what mission-focused service looks like. The members also voted leading up to the event for their favorite volunteer! We are so grateful for the countless hours our volunteers give: providing rides, writing letters, cleaning the resource center, companionship, administrative support, helping at events, and being present to the needs of others.