About Wings


	Wings is a ministry for family members of inmates. We connect inmates' families to caring Christians, who welcome them into congregations and teach them about Christ's love.

About Wings

Wings Ministry hosts three parties a year: a Christmas, Easter, and a Back-To-School Party, hoping to reach families at important times throughout the year. The parties are held in sponsoring churches in different parts of the city and in different denominations. All participants in Wings, whether they are inmate’s family members or church volunteers, enjoy the interaction of Christians working together from many different denominations.

Wings Ministry strives to build quality relationships and strong values in teenagers. Search Institute ® in Minneapolis has identified 40 Developmental Assets ® that are necessary for healthy growth in teenagers. Wings provides an arena for effective ways to rebuild assets in the lives of our young people, which can greatly reduce or prevent their involvement in at-risk behaviors.

The guardians and caregivers of the inmate’s children have time to meet with church and community leaders and volunteers. Contacts are made that can enable future support for the families and invitations are extended to the families to attend worship services of congregations in their neighborhoods. Inmate’s families are welcomed and encouraged to find a church home.

Click here to view Quotes about the Wings Ministry in a new window. (needs the free PDF Viewer from Adobe® that you can get by following this link)

Our Mission is:

Wings Ministry brings families of prisoners and Christian volunteers together as Children of God by:

Building relationships that transform the lives of families, volunteers and Christian communities.

Conducting joyous celebrations of Christ’s unconditional love that break down barriers.

Providing interdenominational mission opportunities for Christian communities worldwide.

Our Vision is:

Christ‘s unconditional love shared with all families of prisoners.

To Learn More, See the Wings Action Plan and Organizational Story:

To learn more about Wings Ministry, read our Action Plan that is available through the following links in PDF or Word format:

Wings Action Plan in Adobe® PDF Format : 403 KB

Marissa Nordstrom Perez of Relational Sensibilities: Evaluation, Research & Writing Services produced The Inner Workings of the Wings Ministry: A Compelling Organizational Story for us. This study yields valuable insight into our ministry. Click on the link to view as Adobe® PDF.

Why Wings?

Wings springs from the passion of caring Christians and the deep concern we have to minister to families of prisoners who have been largely shunned or ignored by our society.

In our society where children are all at risk in one way or another, children whose parent(s) are in prison, face even more challenges.

Why is a program like Wings so necessary today?
	— Over 3.5 million Americans are being supervised by the correctional system.
	— The estimated cost to incarcerate an individual varies from $32,000 per year to over $130,000 per year!
	— America spends over $30 billion a year to incarcerate prisoners.
	— Children of prisoners are 6 – 8 times more likely to become incarcerated themselves. They are at critical risk of dropping out of school, getting involved in violence, and teen pregnancy, due to the fact that most of them are living in poverty-stricken, high crime areas with few or no positive adult role models.
	— 78% of inmates claim to have had a relative in prison and 1 in 40 children in America have an incarcerated parent.
	— The national recidivism rate is about 75%.
	— The recidivism rate at the Women’s prison in Grants, New Mexico is one of the highest in the nation – 82%! And 82% of the inmates claim to be mothers.
	— Over 50% of the children who have a parent in prison NEVER visit their parent in prison.
	— At least 33% of black men in their twenties are incarcerated or on probation.
	— The prison population has more than doubled in the past 10 years.
	— If current trends continue, 1 in 20 Americans will be incarcerated in their lifetime.
	— There are at least 2.5 million children in this country who have incarcerated parents.
	— In New Mexico there are approximately 6,000 children of prisoners (5,000 in Bernalillo County – Albuquerque area).
	— New Mexico rates poorly in comparison to the rest of the nation in the way we care for our children.
	1.	One of every four children (26%) in New Mexico lives in poverty, making it the 3rd poorest state for children.
	2.	New Mexico is the 4th highest ranked state for teen births, and 3rd highest for teen death rate due to accident, homicide or suicide.
	3.	The high school drop-out rate nationwide improved since 1990, but New Mexico’s drop out rate worsened to 11%.
	What are we doing for the family members? Wings Parties! We strongly believe that they are the beginning for many of these family members to feel welcome and become involved in a local church.

Wings Ministry Brochure

Click here to view the Wings Ministry Brochure in Adobe® PDF Format.

Wings in Albuquerque

Wings Ministry started in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1995. Here are some of the Wings Volunteers at the Santa Fe, New Mexico Prison.

Albuquerque Wings Ministry Volunteers

Ann Edenfield, our founder, is holding the 501(c)3 approval received from the IRS.

Click here for more information about How to Start a Wings Program in your community.

Wings Staff

Ann Edenfield
Executive Director/Founder
2270 D Wyoming NE #130
Albuquerque, NM 87112
1-505-291-6412
1-505-291-6418 Fax
AnnEdenfield@WingsMinistry.org

Wings Board Members

Click here to learn who our dedicated and committed Board Members are.

List of Participating Churches

There are over 110 churches and at least 18 different denominations currently participating in the Wings Ministry. To view the list of participating churches, click here.

Letters of Support

Our Supporters are growing every day. Click on the links below to view some our supporters' letters in Adobe® PDF Format:

	Chaplain John Compton - Letter of Appreciation Chaplain, New Mexico Women's Correctional Facility March 6, 2012
	Michele B. Romero - Letter of Support Development Associate - Dismas House February 17, 2012
	John Romero - Letter of Support John Romero, State of New Mexico Second Judicial District February 16, 2012
	Erma Sedillo - Letter of Support Retired Deputy of Corrections, State of New Mexico February 16, 2012
	Sarah Clawson - Letter of Support Family Services Development Coordinator, New Mexico Corrections Department February 14, 2012
	Chaplain Jacob McLeroy - Letter of Support Springer Correctional Facility July 8, 2011
	Paul P. Solnick - Letter of Support Inmate, Grafton Correctional Institution, Grafton, Ohio June 30, 2011
	Gary Sim - Letter of Support Religious Services Administrator May 29, 2011
	Darryl Graves - Letter of Support Deputy of Special Services, Southeastern Correctional Institution January 28, 2011
	Denis Porter - Letter of Support Office of Offender Workforce Development, NM Corrections Department June 2, 2010
	David Madara - Letter of Support Pastor, Trinity United Methodist Church, Albuquerque, New Mexico April 5, 2010
	Beth Bustos - Letter of Support Children, Youth and Families, State of New Mexico April 1, 2010
	Martha Spohn - Letter of Support Ohio Department of Youth Services March 12, 2009
	Joe R. Williams - Wings Endorsement New Mexico Secretary of Corrections February 20, 2004
	Eloy L. Mondragon - Letter of Support Eloy L. Mondragon, Corrections Consultant Former Secretary of Corrections, State of New Mexico February 24, 2004
	Ron Guillemette - Letter of Support Director - New Mexico Corrections Department of Education State of New Mexico / Corrections Department December 4, 2003
	Cel Vigil - Letter of Support Criminal Justice Consultant December 28, 2003
	Peggy Steven's Letter of Support January 2, 2004
	Joey Stuckey - Letter of Support Musician January 26, 2004

Wings Ministry Statement of Policy and Procedure: Safety

Wings Ministry brings families of prisoners, probationers, and former inmates together with caring Christian volunteers and is determined to provide a safe and supportive environment for everyone.
Wings Ministry cannot allow participation by any person convicted as a sex offender. This protects program participants and ensures that offenders do not violate the terms of their probation/parole.
Because the Wings Ministry believes everyone is a child of God, any person restricted from attending a Wings Party or Wings for L.I.F.E. event will be referred (with their permission) to an appropriate ministry and/or program.
The Wings Ministry Safety Policy Statement will be printed on all sign-in registration forms and agendas. All attendees are required to sign in at the registration table using Wings Ministry registration forms.

Policy statement shall read: Wings Ministry Parties & Wings for L.I.F.E. cannot allow participation by any person convicted as a sex offender.
Any person on probation and/or parole attending a Wings for L.I.F.E. event must check the appropriate box on the registration form and name his/her PPO and contact phone number. Wings for L.I.F.E. personnel will contact the appropriate probation/parole officer for approval to ensure that the probationer gets community service credit, if applicable.
All Wings Parties and Wings for L.I.F.E. events are organized and set-up in a way to follow the most up-to-date safety practices.
Wings Ministry reserves the right to ask a guest to leave an event if his/her behavior is threatening or inappropriate.
All Wings Parties and Wings for L.I.F.E. events are drug, alcohol, and weapons free.
Violence, property damage, or verbal abuse will not be tolerated at any Wings Party or Wings for L.I.F.E. event.
Out of respect for everyone, all participants at Wings Parties and Wings for L.I.F.E. events are encouraged to dress appropriately.
No volunteer will EVER be alone in a private area with anyone at a Wings Party or Wings for L.I.F.E. event.
No volunteer EVER takes a non-family member to the restroom.
All Wings Parties and Wings for L.I.F.E. events will include an orientation/training that will review these safety policy statements.
To be considered a Certified Wings Volunteer, one needs to complete a NCIC, prison, or other approved background check. Only Certified Wings Volunteers will be allowed to wear a Wings Ministry T-shirt.
Certified Wings Volunteers and board members are encouraged to attend training in sexual harassment prevention, non-discrimination policies, and to review current safety policies on an annual basis.

The following are registered trademarks of Search Institute: Search Institute® and Developmental Assets®
The following is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated: Adobe®
The following are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corportation: Microsoft® and Excel®

Join us on Facebook!

Wings Ministry • 2270 D Wyoming Blvd. NE #130 • Albuquerque, NM 87112-2620 • 505-291-6412 • Fax 505-291-6418 • information@wingsministry.org
• Send comments to webmaster@wingsministry.org •
The Wings Ministry is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 non-profit non-denominational Christian program that is supported by your prayers and supported by your donations.