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Angels of mercy come in all shapes and sizes. And based on the success of a program that pairs faith-based volunteers with children of incarcerated parents, Amatul Shafeek and the associates at Dayton's Big Brothers Big Sisters have earned their wings.

Shafeek is a match support specialist for Big Brothers and Big Sisters' "Amachi" program. Amachi is a partnership between local churches and Big Brothers Big Sisters that urges church members to share time with the children of prisoners.

Shafeek, when she's not practicing her African drumming, spends time in local churches explaining the history and scope of Amachi and recruiting volunteers.

"Amachi was started in Philadelphia by former Mayor Wilson Goode, who is an ordained minister," Shafeek said. "He met with congregational leaders in Philadelphia and the program was picked up by the office of faith-based initiatives sponsored by President Bush."

Amachi has formed partnerships with several local congregations — among them are Dayton's Zion Baptist Church, 1684 Earlham Ave., and Maranatha Christian Fellowship, 4501 Wolf Road, Trotwood.

"These two churches have taken on the challenge," Shafeek said. "Initially we only asked for 10 volunteers to come on board. But these houses of worship have pledged 40 mentors. That's powerful. It means there is moral leadership here."

Michael Parks is executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Miami Valley, 184 Salem Ave., Dayton. The nonprofit organization, which evolved from a Dayton Jaycees program, is celebrating its 50th anniversary in the Miami Valley and serves more than 550 youngsters a year.

"Our goal is to help children achieve their potential through one-to-one mentoring," Parks said. "One of the beauties of our program is that it's flexible. It's a few hours a month, flexible time. If you're going to wash the car on Saturday, why not volunteer to do it with one of our youngsters?

"The Amachi program is a perfect fit for us in prevention and intervention because 7 percent of children with incarcerated parents end up in prison. Our goal is to reduce that number."

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2167

or kmoss@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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