News Release

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 28 /PRNewswire/-- Wheels for the World, a worldwide Christian outreach program of JAF Ministries that provides wheelchairs to people with disabilities, celebrated the opening of its second prison restoration center at the Metro-Davidson Detention Facility in Nashville today. The facility is managed by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). The restoration center offers inmates an opportunity to gain important trade and life skills while gaining a renewed sense of purpose from helping people less fortunate.

According to Joni Eareckson Tada, founder and president of California- based JAF Ministries, this is an opportunity for inmates who often feel disenfranchised from society, to help people with disabilities, many of whom feel marginalized in an able-bodied culture.

"In China, we delivered a wheelchair to a young girl who spent her days watching her family's dogs and cow from her window in her two-room house because she could not use her legs," said Tada, who has used a wheelchair since she was injured in a diving accident at age 17. "Her family and neighbors never had seen a wheelchair before."

Today, some 18 million people in developing countries need wheelchairs, while the US throws away hundreds of thousands of chairs each year because of liability worries and Medicare reimbursement. Wheels for the World collects wheelchairs from sites around the country and sends them to centers like Metro-Davidson, where inmates restore the chairs to like-new condition. Then the chairs are sent worldwide to countries including Albania, Chile, China, Ghana and Romania, where they are donated to disabled recipients, and fitted by US volunteer, disability specialists such as physical and occupational therapists. Programs like Wheels for the World help inmates gain important life and technical work skills while providing an outlet for helping others notes Jack Garner, warden of CCA's Metro facility.

"We are committed to offering inmates programs that will aid their rehabilitation. The Wheels for the World project gives inmates a chance to learn a useful trade skill, while creating opportunities to make positive decisions as they help others," says Garner.

For the past 20 years, JAF Ministries has worked with disabled people around the world with integrated programs that provide physical, emotional and spiritual outreach. Joni Eareckson Tada became a quadriplegic in 1967 when she broke her neck in a diving accident. She is a world-recognized Christian author, radio show host, speaker and artist. Tada founded JAF Ministries in 1979. In addition to Wheels for the World, JAF Ministries provides disability ministry tools, disability awareness training, family retreats and a gift delivery program.

JAF Ministries is headquartered in Agoura Hills, CA, with area ministries located in Charlotte, NC; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Orange County, CA; Phoenix, AZ; and the San Francisco Bay Area, CA.

Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), is the leading private sector provider of detention and correction services. The company cost-effectively designs, finances, builds and manages correctional facilities in partnership with federal, state and local governments. Founded in 1983, CCA currently operates adult and juvenile beds in facilities throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Australia and the United Kingdom.