The Metropolitan Detention Center will be celebrating its 21^st Annual Children’s Christmas Party, for children of incarcerated parent (s), at the Westside Community Center on December 19, 2009.

 This Children’s Christmas Program was first introduced by Gordon Bernell in 1988. His vision of generosity has since blossomed into this annual holiday celebration that has brought both relief and joy to thousands of families over the past 20 years. As a result, this Christmas Program has grown every year since its inception in 1988.

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Gordon Bernell transformed countless lives through his benevolent and inspiring presence at the Bernalillo County Detention Center. He was loved and admired by inmates and employees alike. Among his many accomplishments were the nation’s first jail-based computerized literacy lab, the Youth Outreach Program, the BCDC Inmate and Child Christmas Program, and a 15,000 book library at the jail. The Gordon Bernell Charter School, with campuses at the Metropolitan Detention Center and in Downtown Albuquerque, proudly honors the legacy of Mr. Bernell, his family and his 18 years of service to the community.

 Words From Within, Gordon Bernell Charter School Newsletter, Spring '09