Louisiana Parole Project hosted its sixth annual Redemption Luncheon on Tuesday, Aug. 25 at The Renaissance Hotel in Baton Rouge, welcoming more than 450 community leaders, donors, and supporters. This year’s program focused on our organization’s 10th anniversary with the theme: “Celebrating a Decade of Second Chances.”
The luncheon offered attendees a firsthand look at our mission and an opportunity to hear client stories. A video of clients from each of our 10 years provided a glimpse into their reentry journeys and how their lives have been shaped by second chances.
Executive Director Andrew Hundley reflected on the organization’s beginnings and the drive that continues to guide our work. “Ten years ago, our organization began with a simple belief that people are more than the worst thing they’ve ever done,” he said. “Redemption is possible, and when someone earns a second chance, we should give them the support they need to make the most of it.”
Since 2016, Parole Project has helped more than 700 men and women return home after prison, but Hundley reminded the audience that Parole Project’s impact cannot be measured by a single statistic but by the stories of our clients.
“Our impact is the person who comes home after 20 years and earns his first paycheck. It is the mother rebuilding a relationship with her children. It is the client who gets a driver’s license, opens a bank account, begins a career, and signs a lease on an apartment on their own,” he said. “It is someone who once needed our help becoming the person who now helps someone else. That is what 10 years of impact looks like.”
Ricardo, a Parole Project client, shared his powerful story of transformation. “The Parole Project gives life,” he said. “I spent 26 years in the Louisiana State Penitentiary. When you spend that much time in prison, you have a lot of time to think about your family, your future, and what you would do differently if given a second chance. Early in my sentence, I realized that if I wanted my tomorrow to be different from my yesterday, I had to start doing something about today. I prepared myself for opportunity, because if you’re not ready when it comes, you won’t have time to get there, and you will miss it.”
Donations received from the Redemption Luncheon directly support our mission to enhance public safety by helping formerly incarcerated men and women successfully reenter their communities. We are deeply grateful to everyone who believes in second chances. Your generosity changes lives.
The event would not have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors.
We are grateful to our Second Chance Champions: Beth and Don Allison, Jeanie and David Bondy, Sue and Tim Evon, Marianne Fisher-Giorlando, Haynie Family Foundation, Heymann Foundation, JKP Family Foundation, Lavigne Oil Company, Livers Corrections Consulting, LUBA Workers’ Comp, Meredith Eicher LLC, Nancy and Flip Roberts, Stephanie and Chip Songy, Wampold Companies, and Window World.
We also thank our Event Sponsors: MiMi and Chip Bankston, Diane D’Ambrosio, First Horizon, Gerry Lane Enterprises, Linda Holmes, Lamar, and Ochsner Health. Their generosity helps make our work and the continued impact of second chances possible.
You can watch the 2026 Redemption Luncheon video here.
