By S. Frances Hoffman

Three remarkable Madison area community members with transformational life stories will be honored at the 7^th annual MOSES Transformation Celebration/Gala on Saturday, December 14, 2024.  The event will take place from 5:30 pm-9:00 pm at the Brassworks building of the Goodman Community Center, 214 Waubesa St., Madison.

According to Rachel Kincade, past president of MOSES (Madison Organizing in Strength, Equity, and Solidarity) and the original initiator of the Transformation Celebration, “The importance of the Gala is to let community people know how incarceration happens, and that people can turn things around in their lives to give back and be contributing community members.   We also want formerly  incarcerated  people to know they can dream big, and their lives do not have to be determined by their past.”

Kingston Robertson, Jessica Jacobs, and Action Jackson are the 2024 honorees for the MOSES celebration.  Prior to the celebration, each of the honorees participated in interviews in which they briefly told their stories.  They described early trauma in their lives, movement toward change, barriers to reentering the community, and  finally, success in establishing a personal mission.  Kingston Robertson is currently the brand owner of Holy Godz clothing gear, a designer with a message for young people; Jessica Jacobs is serving as a Dane County community organizer for the FREE movement where she advocates for women’s issues; and Action Jackson is the owner of a professional landscaping business and the founder of J.Y.C, his Workforce Development Program, through which he provides free training for the community in lawn care and landscaping.

Beginning at 5:30 pm on December 14^th, guests will be treated to heavy hors d’oeuvres and desserts catered by Goodworks Community Catering/TeenWorks.  Carmella Glenn will serve as the emcee for the program which will include an introduction to MOSES, three moving videos of the honorees filmed by Dee Star of Star Productions, an awards ceremony, and an opportunity to win raffle prizes.  MOSES wishes to thank  the sponsors of this event and the donors of raffle prizes. To register, go to the Gala page on the MOSES website (mosesmadison.org/gala) and click on the “Buy Tickets Now” button to be connected to an online registration form.  The cost of registration is $75 per person or $65 for two or more tickets purchased at the same time.  The deadline for registration is Monday, December 2nd, 2024.