Helping Hands for Helping Our Returning Neighbors
Creating Opportunities for Growth and Development with Helping Our Returning Neighbors
The Giving Challenge is an exciting 24‑hour giving event taking place from noon to noon April 15‑16, 2026, that connects more than 700 nonprofits with donors and community members to build relationships, support diverse causes, and create enduring impact in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, and DeSoto counties. All donations made during the Giving Challenge are unrestricted gifts to the nonprofit of your choice. Transform your impact through meaningful relationships and partnerships while strengthening your potential reach through the 2026 Giving Challenge.
WE WANT OUR MEN BACK
Have you noticed how many more obstacles and hurdles there seem to be in life today compared to 50 years ago?
Recently, we were in conversation with a few men, talking about past struggles—those valleys we all walk through at times. Many shared that, even in their hardest moments, they were blessed to have someone to call… a voice of reason, a mentor, a father, or a man of deep faith.
Someone who helped them think clearly.
Someone who guided them forward.
How many times in your own life have you needed that?
Now imagine not having it at all.
Imagine growing up with no role model.
Or being surrounded by addiction, crime, or instability.
Imagine making one poor decision… then another… and another—until it begins to snowball.
This is the reality for many of the men we serve.
At Helping Our Returning Neighbors, we believe we are called to do more than walk past.
We are called to step in—with compassion, with guidance, and with consistency.
Because the truth is this:
We need our men back.
We do that by introducing them to mature men of faith who walk beside them
mentoring, encouraging, and helping them build a new path forward.
We begin this work inside prison walls, preparing them for release.
And we continue it for as long as needed after they return home.
What we provide is something every person needs:
- A relationship built on love
- Mutual respect
- Accountability
- Guidance through real-life challenges
That is support.
That is transformation.
And it is far more effective—and far more humane—than the cycle of incarceration.
Soon, you will have an opportunity to support this work through the Giving Challenge.
In the meantime, we invite you to learn more, get involved, and be part of restoring lives: www.helpingourreturningneighbor.org
Gratefully,
Steve Kennedy
Director
