Very inspirational story of two Chabad volunteers (I happen to know one of them, Peretz Shapiro personally from Sydney, Australia. ) and thei
r work with the Aleph Institute, helping Jewish inmates in American prisons.<link >
Key quote that sticks out in my mind:
Schapiro said that in order to prepare for their Jewish jail jaunt, he and Kalmensohn asked the head of their yeshiva in Los Angeles what they should tell the prisoners. "He said that of all the great personalities in the Torah, including Abraham and Moses, only Joseph, while in prison, is called a 'successful man,'" Schapiro reported. "He went on to explain that when things are going right for someone and he enjoys success in what he is doing, it's not real success, rather the result of circumstance. When things are not going right and the person still remains positive and focused on his goal, he is a successful person. Joseph, who was hated by his brothers, sold into slavery and thrown into a dungeon for a crime he didn't commit, had every right to be angry at society and lose focus. However, even after these terrible things had befallen him, he kept a positive outlook and a good attitude. He woke up one morning, and the fact that his fellow inmate didn't have a smile on his face bothered him. That is real success. When we heard this, we thought it would be something nice to tell the inmates to try to lift their spirits a bit."