Over the last two years, he’s documented dozens of nonprofits, including the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, or ARC, which is working to end mass incarceration in California.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I wasn’t contributing, and I decided that was my moment. I decided I wanted to change. I wanted to be something better,” \u00a0Christopher Dodds of San Fernando said. “Even if I was still in prison, I felt that I didn’t need to allow my environment to dictate the type of person I was.”<\/p>\n
Dodds is reluctant to go in front of the camera to talk about his life and his work with ARC, but he says he’s doing it to honor his daughter, who died of cancer, and for people who are trying to turn their lives around in prison, as he did.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"screenshot-2026-07-10-134224.png](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/screenshot-2026-07-10-134224.png#.png\")
<\/p>\n
Taghi Naderzad shoots Christoper Dodds for his TheOnes.org nonprofit site.<\/p>\n
CBS LA<\/p>\n
“I’m an ex-lifer. I did 30 years in prison. When I got out, my purpose was to serve the community, to give back to the community that I’ve taken so much from,” he said.<\/p>\n
Dodds is now an ARC life coach, helping support people after they’re released. He also returns to prison to counsel inmates.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Man, when you see guys just like getting it, when they start asking questions, when they start showing up to group all the time, taking accountability for their lives, that’s the reward,” Dodds said.<\/p>\n
\u00a0ARC is one of 50. nonprofits in Notterzod’s directory, and he plans to keep adding more organizations whose work uplifts local communities and to inspire others to get more involved.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“If you are a fortunate human being and you’re privileged in some ways, you just got lucky in life, and you need to give back,” Naderzad said.<\/p>\n
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