The Brandon Chandler Foundation hosted its annual Carnival Fundraiser on Saturday, May 21.

Founded by friends of the late SCVTV videographer Brandon Chandler, the Foundation is dedicated to stopping the cycle of violence and imprisonment by mentoring inmates to effect their successful reintegration into society.

It is a hard fact that nationally 40 percent of inmates return to jail after they are released. 7.3 million children have at least one parent in jail or prison. Sadly 70 percent of those children will follow in their parent’s footsteps and end up in jail too. This cycle needs to stop. Education is the key to ending this cycle. Uneducated, impoverished, and those not provided with a solid and loving parent as a life example are those that end up in jail. Once this group within society is given the opportunity to succeed in life, the numbers change.