It’s late afternoon in the Draper Correctional Facility in Elmore, Alabama on a sunny, humid late September day. The tantalizing aroma of fresh donuts has hung in the air since early morning – a markedly rare occurrence here. Rumors waft throughout the prison – pleasant, yet unfamiliar sensations have mysteriously arrived. Some inmates had spied a food trailer advertising donuts. Laughter and commotion could likely be heard from the volunteers beyond the chain link fence. The scheduled routine of mealtime at the chow hall revealed the delightful surprise. The time constraints are rigid, living up to the title of chow hall – inmates must literally chow down, as they are usually only given 10 to 15 minutes to eat. One chaplain explained “depending on the officer in charge of the chow hall, they could even get in trouble – get written up; get a disciplinary – if they are caught talking! They may not take any food out of the chow hall, so they had to quickly eat their two BIG donuts before they left the room”. Some of the volunteers and chaplains witnessed the reactions in the hallway as the men were headed out, all in white uniforms bearing the letters “ADOC” on the front upper left shirt corners and “Alabama Department of Corrections” on the backs – sparkling eyes, grins from those who had finished eating, some still licking their fingers, and others with stuffed cheeks yet. The chow hall officer did not have to break up any fights today.
So, what is the connection of this ministry of donut making in an Alabama penitentiary to us here in the Shenandoah Valley? Meet Carl Strite, a resident of Broadway, founder of Strite’s Donuts, and a memorably kind man who radiates love for others as he serves his Lord – he would tell you all the effort is for the glory of God alone.
The prison ministry that Carl and his team goes through to deliver donuts in several prisons of Alabama is called We Care, which has been around for 50 years. I personally have several friends and family members who have volunteered with this organization and I always enjoy hearing about their work. Carl says that the idea to get involved came to him about 10 or 12 years ago – “to minister to the broken people. We realized that what we have to give is donuts. That’s what we had to share in Jesus’ name.
We enjoyed the opportunities that we had to minister to them through the avenue of a donut, the simple thing as a donut.”
Carl says that volunteers come from various localities and backgrounds – “some from Pennsylvania – Lancaster, Lebanon counties, maybe half from Pennsylvania and half from Virginia – anywhere from those who are hesitant to actually go into ministry but they’re willing to do hands on work like making donuts and making food, to those who are veterans in sharing the gospel, so we enjoy everyone that goes along.” The focus of donut making provided an easy way to relate.
The entire trip usually spans five days and five prisons. Sharon, the chaplain who described meal time above, also local to our valley, shared that each inmate and staff member get two donuts each. Draper had approximately 1,250 men incarcerated there. She exclaimed, “Can you imagine all the donuts that were made??”
The days are long for volunteers, and something notable about this greasy work in Alabama weather – Carl pointed out, “the beginning of October in Alabama – it doesn’t cool down until at least December or January. It’s very hot; we work outside in very hot temperatures frying the donuts. It’s pretty grueling – we start early in the morning, as far as getting up at sometimes 3, maybe 4 in the morning, start making donuts at 5 o’clock so we can have all of them done by 12 noon or 1 o’clock, lunchtime, when they serve them on their lunch tray – it’s hard work, it’s a lot of work, some of the volunteers are like, ‘well we just wouldn’t be able to stick with it’, but those of us who grew up workin’, we know to stick with it and get it done.”
After the special meal was served where the donut makers were able to personally hand their treats to the guys as they came through the chow line, all of the volunteers gather round for a chapel service in the afternoon or evening. They had invited the men to this during their interactions in the chow hall. Carl shared that the last two years required the service to be held through the fence due to coronavirus protocols. “The evening chapel services really filled up with a lot of guys because that donut touched their hearts.” Carl said that they had great services every night in the chapels and that they reached a lot of the inmates. You see, Carl and the rest of the crew know that donuts are a fleeting joy – their underlying motivation is communicating the love of Christ and His offer of forgiveness for all men, a gift that impacts eternity.
Alabama prisons aren’t the only places Carl and his team are serving. “We also do the local prisons here in Virginia – we do Middle River Regional Jail, we deliver donuts every Christmas down to the Rockingham County Jail in Harrisonburg, and we also set up at Augusta Correctional Center in Craigsville. We have never served the inmates there yet – we have served all the staff. It’s our pleasure to be able to share what we have, as a donut in Jesus’ name.”
Connections are made, and Carl is able to assist those rejoining the workforce after their time is served. “Some of the guys here locally in the Harrisonburg jail come to us after they get out, just knowing that we served them donuts in prison and it touched their hearts. They came here to our location as soon as they got out of jail, to work. We’ve hired over 50 ex-inmates here at the donut shop in the last 5 years.”
Does this ministry of taking a trip to make donuts interest you? Get in touch with someone at Strite’s Donuts and you’d be welcome on this October tour! Sharon says there is always a need for volunteers – “We Care Program is in need of persons/chaplains who love the Lord with all their heart and have a heart for those incarcerated. Even within the state of Virginia, outside of We Care, there are needs for prison chaplains and ways to minister to those behind bars.”
Brimming with emotion, Carl shared, “We will never know all the ways that we touch people’s lives.” Sharon and Carl both relayed a precious story about a man at Ventress Correctional in Southeast Alabama, who had not had a donut for 26 years. After receiving two in Jesus’ name, he said, “I never dreamed that you could taste so much love in a donut – in here, we feel forgotten – even our families don’t care about us – and for y’all to come in and give us donuts, you don’t know how that encouraged us. There was so much love in that donut.”
guys because that donut touched their hearts.” Carl said that they had great services every night in the chapels and that they reached a lot of the inmates. You see, Carl and the rest of the crew know that donuts are a fleeting joy – their underlying motivation is communicating the love of Christ and His offer of forgiveness for all men, a gift that impacts eternity.
Alabama prisons aren’t the only places Carl and his team are serving. “We also do the local prisons here in Virginia – we do Middle River Regional Jail, we deliver donuts every Christmas down to the Rockingham County Jail in Harrisonburg, and we also set up at Augusta Correctional Center in Craigsville. We have never served the inmates there yet – we have served all the staff. It’s our pleasure to be able to share what we have, as a donut in Jesus’ name.”
Connections are made, and Carl is able to assist those rejoining the workforce after their time is served. “Some of the guys here locally in the Harrisonburg jail come to us after they get out, just knowing that we served them donuts in prison and it touched their hearts. They came here to our location as soon as they got out of jail, to work. We’ve hired over 50 ex-inmates here at the donut shop in the last 5 years.”
Does this ministry of taking a trip to make donuts interest you? Get in touch with someone at Strite’s Donuts and you’d be welcome on this October tour! Sharon says there is always a need for volunteers – “We Care Program is in need of persons/chaplains who love the Lord with all their heart and have a heart for those incarcerated. Even within the state of Virginia, outside of We Care, there are needs for prison chaplains and ways to minister to those behind bars.”
Brimming with emotion, Carl shared, “We will never know all the ways that we touch people’s lives.” Sharon and Carl both relayed a precious story about a man at Ventress Correctional in Southeast Alabama, who had not had a donut for 26 years. After receiving two in Jesus’ name, he said, “I never dreamed that you could taste so much love in a donut – in here, we feel forgotten – even our families don’t care about us – and for y’all to come in and give us donuts, you don’t know how that encouraged us. There was so much love in that donut.”
