Robert in Illinois

Robert from Illinois is back on the Prison Pen Pal Podcast—and this time, he has some incredible news to share. After first appearing on the podcast earlier in 2026, Robert has continued building friendships with people he met through PenPals.Buzz. One of those pen pals is Lenora Mcelwee, a 69-year-old woman who spent 34 years in prison. After years of being denied parole, Lenora finally went before the parole board in August and was granted parole, with her release expected later this year. Rob...

Robert, a PenPals.Buzz Super Fan, works as a caretaker in Illinois. After some personal experiences with friends and family members being arrested and incarcerated, he decided it was time for less judgment and more kindness. In addition to helping the free-world senior citizen residents as his place of employment, he felt a strong desire to help those behind the walls, too. That's when, about a year ago, he happened across PenPals.Buzz and began writing to male and female prison inmates around t...