The 23rd Annual Community Giveback is an event held in December where All of Us or None gifts bikes and other toys to children on behalf of their incarcerated loved one.
The event reminds children that they have a whole community of people who care about them and also supports formerly incarcerated in their efforts to positively impact their communities. It is dedicated to the memory of Robert Moody, a formerly incarcerated activist who helped initiate the project.
This event is about more than just giving gifts. It’s about creating connections, restoring dignity, and standing in love and hope—something our community is often denied.
Over 100 children and their caregivers gathered at the Freedom and Movement Center because someone inside had a gift for them. Nine-year-old Paris was one of those children, arriving with her grandmother, Kimberly. Paris’ father, Lance, has been incarcerated at California State Prison, Sacramento, since she was two years old.
In our interview, Kimberly reflects on one of the times she took Paris to visit her father.
“I asked Paris if she wanted to play in the play area, and she said, ‘No.’ She just sat there patiently waiting to see her dad, but as soon as her dad walked out Paris screamed at the top of her lungs. She was scared, and it did something to Lance. It triggered him, and so everything that I had on that table—I think I had $60 worth of food on the table—he just started passing it out to everybody around. Then he said, “You guys can go.”
But Kimberly wasn’t leaving. Instead, she took Paris into the bathroom and talked to her.
“I told her, ‘You don’t have to sit by him. Just sit across the table. I’ll be right there with you.’ She agreed, and I told Lance to take baby steps. He wanted a picture with his daughter, so he eased into it. He drew a Christmas tree and asked Paris to do the same. Then he said, ‘Mom, you be the judge. Who did it better?’
Paris studied his drawing. ‘But you don’t have any ornaments,’ she said.
‘I don’t know how to draw them,’ Lance admitted.
‘Oh, let me show you,’ Paris said, inching closer.
That was the breakthrough. I quietly asked one of the guys that takes photos in the visiting room to snap a picture without her noticing. And just like that, we had the moment Lance had been hoping for. By the end of the visit, Paris still wouldn’t give him a hug. Instead, she told me, ‘Granny, I’ll hug you, and you hug him.’ So that’s what we did. We passed the hug along.”
In situations like this, children’s emotions are high, and outcomes are unpredictable. Through Kimberly and Lance’s quick thinking and creative parenting, a visit that didn’t start off as ideal was salvaged.
In the past, Lance has asked his mother, Kimberly, to buy gifts for Paris on his behalf, but those gifts were tainted by some family members telling Paris that her gifts were not from her dad, but from her grandmother. Paris, caught between adult pettiness, had her belief in her father and his ability to provide snatched away.
But on Saturday, December 10, 2022, Paris arrived at the Freedom and Movement Center holding onto her grandma’s hand tight, eyes low but observant, scanning the scene of families and over 100 bicycles. The event started off with families registering and then being escorted through the different stations: a testimonial area where children created thank-you cards to be mailed to their loved ones inside along with a photo, a helmet fitting area, face painting, food, and finally, the moment where the child could select their bike.
During the event, Lance called his mother, Kimberly, on speakerphone, and I could hear Lance telling his daughter, “I bought you a bike. That’s why you’re there, to pick your bike.” He asked her, “Can you hear me? Do you understand?”
I can only describe the look on Paris’ face as shock as she listened to her father explain to her that this gift was from him.
Kimberly could see the shift happening right in front of her. “It felt good going to the Giveback because I knew he had to submit forms, and he had to put in the work and effort to get his daughter on the list to get a bike. No one can tell her that her dad didn’t get her that bike.”
Getting your first bike is a big deal. It’s something you don’t forget. Every time Paris rides that bike, she’ll think of her dad. It’s a connection, a shared moment that belongs to them. And hopefully, when they are reunited on the outside, it’ll make those first conversations just a little bit easier.
Kimberly says the timing of Lance’s call was perfect because he got to hear Dorsey Nunn speak about his 11 years of incarceration, his 23 years of giving back, and his call for others to step up and continue the work.
That’s why Lance wanted to personally thank Dorsey, and he got the chance while still on the phone. When Dorsey came on the line, he told Lance, ‘Man, I’m about to retire. I’ve got two or three more years in me. We need people to take over.’
“My son was so excited. He kept saying, ‘Mom, tell them thank you!’ He’s the kind of person who always shows appreciation when someone does something for his child. Every little thing I do for her—‘Mom, thank you.’”
In that moment, a new possibility opened up. Lance lit up. “I can do that, Mom,” he said.
When the event ended, Kimberly said Paris didn’t want to leave. And when they got home, she couldn’t wait to tell her mom and grandfather: “My dad bought me this bike!”
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