Book 'Em, a Books-to-Prisoners Program
It was suggested I cross-post this information to this community--
If any of you lovely LJ people are the type of folks that like to send money to non-profits and take it off your taxes and such, please consider donating a little money to Book 'Em-- that's that volunteer collective I work with that sends educational books to people in prison, free of cost. In many cases, books-to-prisoners programs like Book 'Em are a prisoner's only resource for reading material, as prison libraries are shutting down all over the country, and in any case, often have little to offer.
It costs approx. $700-800 a month to operate the program, and the group has no real source of income. We used to have a small grant, but it ran out quite a while ago and a new source of grant money has yet to be found. We have been having fundraisers and benefit concerts with mixed success (lately, not very much success at all-- the benefits have been flopping) but we're seeming to constantly be at $0 level-- our volunteers are paying for the postage out of their own pocket, much of the time.
The average package we send costs 2 or 3 bucks, Media Mail. That means YOU can provide an educational, rehabilitative experience to 10 prisoners with few (if any) other educational resources in their life, for 20 to 30 dollars. This service also gives them a sense that there is still hope, and that they are still worthy of some human compassion. I don't know about you, but I see literacy and education as fundamental to any effort at rehabilitation for folks in prison.
You can send a book of stamps to:
Book 'Em
P.O. Box 71357
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
(be sure to specify if you would like a donation receipt)
or to donate money, see our new webpage (still being built-- it will look better later) at:
www.thomasmertoncenter.org/bookem.htm
If you prefer to send a check, send it to the P.O. Box, payable to the Thomas Merton Center (they handle our finances) and put Book 'Em in the check memo.
If you would like any questions about the program answered, feel free to email me or ask me on LJ.
Please consider helping, either now or some time in the future. Thanks in advance!
If any of you lovely LJ people are the type of folks that like to send money to non-profits and take it off your taxes and such, please consider donating a little money to Book 'Em-- that's that volunteer collective I work with that sends educational books to people in prison, free of cost. In many cases, books-to-prisoners programs like Book 'Em are a prisoner's only resource for reading material, as prison libraries are shutting down all over the country, and in any case, often have little to offer.
It costs approx. $700-800 a month to operate the program, and the group has no real source of income. We used to have a small grant, but it ran out quite a while ago and a new source of grant money has yet to be found. We have been having fundraisers and benefit concerts with mixed success (lately, not very much success at all-- the benefits have been flopping) but we're seeming to constantly be at $0 level-- our volunteers are paying for the postage out of their own pocket, much of the time.
The average package we send costs 2 or 3 bucks, Media Mail. That means YOU can provide an educational, rehabilitative experience to 10 prisoners with few (if any) other educational resources in their life, for 20 to 30 dollars. This service also gives them a sense that there is still hope, and that they are still worthy of some human compassion. I don't know about you, but I see literacy and education as fundamental to any effort at rehabilitation for folks in prison.
You can send a book of stamps to:
Book 'Em
P.O. Box 71357
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
(be sure to specify if you would like a donation receipt)
or to donate money, see our new webpage (still being built-- it will look better later) at:
www.thomasmertoncenter.org/bookem.htm
If you prefer to send a check, send it to the P.O. Box, payable to the Thomas Merton Center (they handle our finances) and put Book 'Em in the check memo.
If you would like any questions about the program answered, feel free to email me or ask me on LJ.
Please consider helping, either now or some time in the future. Thanks in advance!