40th Anniversary Timeline

In 1980 at the request of the Department of Corrections (DOC), Presbyterian Women funded the first female chaplain in the state at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women (NCCIW) and pooled their monies to renovate the Chapel. In 1989, the DOC requested a relocation of the chaplain to the new minimum-security Raleigh Correctional Center for Women (RCCW, now the Canary Unit of the NCCIW).

In 2001, formal transitional education was added through JobStart, and the partnership between the DOC, IPMW (then Presbyterian Coordinating Committee), Wake Technical College, First Presbyterian Church and the community continues to this day.

In 2004, the organization was reorganized as Presbyterian Prison Ministry, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non profit and in 2013, the name of the organization was changed to Interfaith Prison Ministry for Women (IPMW) to reflect the broader base of people engaged in this transformational work and the requirements of our chaplaincy covenant within the prison.

In 2020, we expanded services to women reentering society through the Women’s Reentry Project, a broad-scale initiative providing wraparound services to women. The organizational also met the needs of people in our community during the COVID-19 pandemic through an emergency assistance fund.

In 2021, the organization embarked on a comprehensive rebranding initiative in response to our broadened work outside the prison, and in January 2023 officially launched our new name, Arise Collective. “Arise” to signify women who are moving upward and forward, against all odds, and “Collective” to acknowledge that we do this together, in community, working toward a common purpose.

Throughout our history, Arise Collective/ IPMW has served many thousands of women.