Social Justice
OUR MISSIONWe restore dignity to people returning home from prison by providing scholarship stipends to empower students to achieve their academic and career goals.
Excell Network hosts monthly breakfasts to support the restorative justice scholarship program which assists students on probation and parole as they continue their education.
At our monthly breakfasts, you will meet Excell Network team leaders as well as justice-involved students currently receiving a scholarship. Through these breakfast events, we will be connecting community members to “go under the hood” of what it means to support those trying to re-enter society after incarceration.
All breakfasts support the restorative justice scholarship program, which assists students on probation and parole as they continue their education. Attendees at the breakfasts hear students’ stories; build a community of participants and supporters; and, of course, enjoy a delicious meal. Please consider supporting our brothers and sisters in their pursuit of hopeful, productive lives.
Please visit https://excellnetwork.org/ to learn more.
This year there are two sites. St. Agnes Parish in San Francisco will host the breakfasts on the second Saturday of the month and St. Mark’s Parish in Belmont will host on the third Saturday of the month.
Click HERE to listen to the Students’ stories.
Click HERE to learn about the support to students.
Click HERE to get your ticket at $20 per person.
Click HERE to read the article on the event.
The next Excell network breakfast is on May 21 at the parish hall from 8:00 – 9:30 AM. Click on the blue button to buy your ticket or email williammallet@comcast.net to reserve your seat.
Saturday, April 16th
The last Excell network breakfast took place on Holy Saturday, April 16. Led by Maria Ong, the SVDP St Mark conference provided a nutritious and delicious breakfast to about 50 attendees.
Miguel Infante, an Excell Network student, gave a deeply moving reflection on his journey that drew heavily on his faith in Christ our Redeemer.
This remarkable child of God described joining college classes by Zoom while undergoing cancer treatment. We praise God for calling His Holy Spirit to sustain Miguel through difficult times, bearing many crosses on his way to remarkable things.
Saturday, March 19th
Julio Escobar introduces the students.
Over 70 attended and we collected more than $1,500 in ticket & merchandise sales that will go directly to helping the formerly incarcerated.
Here are a few quotes from our attendees…
Trung Tong, a student, shares his story.
“Very pleased that we are doing this outreach. Looking forward to learning more.” ~ Peter Boncose, our guest from St Gregory parish
“I have been to the first two breakfasts. After hearing Daisy and Trung, l realized there can be many reasons why people go to jail. The reasons are due to personal circumstances when they were young. Things happened beyond their control and the people they needed to help direct their lives couldn’t because of their own circumstances. Praise God they are now on the straight and narrow road.” ~ George Watrous
“Having the students from the Excell Network visit St. Mark’s has been a real blessing. I’ve been moved by the bravery of the students in sharing deeply personal stories of their lives before and after incarceration. In their sharing each Saturday, they break down walls and give witness to the working of Grace in their lives–through their triumphs and aspirations to serve society. The ongoing breakfasts allow me to participate in making the support of our community tangible for the students and to learn from them and others from our Parish in the process.” ~ Jonte Craighead
And of course, a very warm Thanks to the Ladies Guild for preparing such a delicious & nutritious meal!
For further inquiries, please contact:
Julio Escobar | (415) 614-5572 | escobarj@sfarch.org
Bill Mallet – williammallet@comcast.net
