Justice Champion Spotlight: Flikshop
Marcus and his mom Sylvia run Flikshop, a business that sends high quality and security friendly postcards to men and women in prison. For as little as 70 cents per card, loved ones can upload photos via an app and show those inside they are not alone.
Marcus spent eight years in an adult prison from the age of 15. His mom Sylvia sent him a photo and note every day while he was inside. She wanted to re-assure him that there were people on the outside who cared for him, were thinking of him and that he should not let the four walls of his cell get him down.
"We launched Flikshop because I wanted to connect back to my friends that I left in prison. Today, I’m proud to say that the additional 170,000 families that we support are also able to share moments with their loved ones the way my mom did for me while I was there.”
Once released from prison, Marcus took on a few jobs, but he could not stop thinking about the friends he left behind. Those people who never received mail and who desperately wanted to know someone outside was thinking of them. This reassurance gave Marcus with the strength he needed to get through his sentence, and he knew how immeasurably supportive it could be to other inmates.
Flikshop was born and Marcus has gone from strength to strength. His “Instagram for the incarcerated” operates across 50 states and in 2,200 prisons. He has also taken his business beyond the bottom line and wants to change the system - using the data he collects from the company to fight recidivism. He has set up Flikshop Angels, an opportunity for anyone to send a photo, whether they know someone incarcerated or not. He has spoken at the White House, shared a platform with Reverend Jesse Jackson, and is actively supported by musician John Legend.
His story is one of a mother’s love, never giving up, and how to give back. He is a key example of how critical the voices of the formerly incarcerated are in identifying truly effective ways that businesses can help.
"Imagine a world that treated people in prison like actual humans; I mean, 95% of the people in prison are coming home one day. How do you want them to show back up in your neighborhood? I want them to show up feeling loved like I did.”