Last September, Maria Todd began her 10 months of service as an AmeriCorps Ally with the organization Cincinnati Works, which helps individuals get on the road to economic self-sufficiency and away from poverty. In this story of hope and the power of service, Maria shares the story of a man, Hanif, whom she met right after he had been let out of prison. “Hanif had been in prison longer than I have been alive,” Maria writes. Yet thanks to his commitment and to the help he received, Maria writes that Hanif has succeeded in finding employment and “breaking the chain that could have led on and on for generations… Although he has made mistakes in his past, he has pushed to overcome them.”Read her story.