Organization raising money for new chapel at James V. Allred Unit

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) -A non-profit organization is working towards building a chapel at the James V. Allred Unit and is looking to get closer to their fundraising goal during Texoma Gives.

They currently hold services in small rooms but say they need to grow because of the number of inmates that attend.

Organizers say the new chapel will solve many problems because the room they hold most of their services in has a capacity of 40 people. When they move it to the gym they can hold around 180 people, but they still don’t have enough room to accept everyone that wants to be a part of the service.

“There is many times as people sign up for different faith based programs they are simply turned away because there is no room to accommodate them,” Charles Grady, chairmen for the Allred Chapel Project said.

Charles Grady and many other volunteers have been working hard since January of 2020 to raise money for a new chapel at the James V. Allred unit. Grady has volunteered at the prison since 1996 and has seen what services from the chapel have done for the inmates.

“It has been proven that through faith based programs, it drops down to 11% and 20% recidivism rates,” Grady said. “It prepares them for when they get back in society to become part of society instead of working against society and ending up back out here.”

Around 44% of prisoners without faith based programs will return to prison, according to non-profit One Man’s Treasure. To begin construction on the new chapel, organizers need to raise at least $800,000 of their $1,000,000 goal. After two years of fundraising, they’ve raised $500,000 so they’re looking toward Texoma Gives hoping for more help.

“If we could at least get over our half-way point, which would be to raise at least $30,000,” Grady said. “Now if we could raise an additional $300,000, we could actually start building.”

Grady says this chapel will be able to transform lives and leave a longstanding positive impact on inmates’ home communities.

“You have to change the heart of a man to actually change the mind of a man,” Grady said. “As you change the heart and the mind of the man you begin to see different behavior and that is what these faith based programs do.”

If you are interested in donating, you can visit the Texoma Gives Website or go to allredchapel.com.

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