SuEllen Fried is one of 10 women selected from more than 6,000 nominees for the L’Oreal Paris Women of Worth award. L’Oreal Paris celebrates the intrinsic beauty and worth of all women through its belief that “every woman is worth it.” Women of Worth translates this into action by honoring extraordinary everyday women making a difference in their communities.
For more than 30 years, Fried has visited prisoners in Kansas to witness discussions where inmates transform themselves through “raw, real and relevant” sessions. {mprestriction ids="1,3"}Fried co-founded Reaching Out From Within with an inmate who was a member of the Lifer’s Club in 1982. She was asked to bring in experts to help the inmates understand the roots of violence in their lives. Consequently, a curriculum emerged that has produced amazing low recidivism rates. Today, ROFW reaches more than 600 prisoners each year and operates 18 weekly groups in all nine Kansas prisons, and three weekly programs in North Carolina Corrections Facilities. ROFW members are committed to giving back in many ways. They tutor other inmates to obtain their GED, train themselves to be hospice workers for terminally ill prisoners, speak to youth groups, raise funds for child abuse and domestic violence shelters, and many program alum return to prisons to be volunteer sponsors and mentors.
Reaching Out from Within sponsors self-help programs for inmates who desire to make changes in their behavior that enable them to become role models for non-violence while in correctional facilities, and productive family members and citizens upon return to their communities.
L’Oreal Paris will make a $10,000 donation on behalf of each honoree to a charitable organization of her choice and an all-expense paid trip to New York City to be recognized at an awards event. Additionally, the honoree with the most online shares will receive an additional $25,000 donation to her cause.
Fried says, “Being a Women of Worth enables us to commit additional resources towards the process of reforming inmates through a weekly intensive curriculum.”
Online voting ends Nov. 20. The Woman of Worth with the most votes will be announced Dec. 1 in New York. for more ifnroamtion on voting visit the Women of Worth website at www.womenofworth.com.{/mprestriction}
