“The statistics show that not only is a sizable proportion of the U.S. prison population functionally illiterate, but that the only factor that reduces recidivism rates is education,” says Pam Boiros from the Prison Book Program. The guiding philosophy underlying the initiative is that bringing books to prisons means more literature and education for prisoners, which translates into less crime on the streets and less released individuals finding their way back into prisons.
The event is a product of the collaboration of three independent organization, Better World Books (BWB), Prison Book Program (PBP), and the City Mission Society (CMS). The logistical support comes from BWB as they sell the books that neither PBP nor CMS can use directly in their programs. Part of BWB’s proceeds from the sales of books collected at the book drive benefit both of the other organizations, according to Boiros.
BWB is an “online bookstore with a soul,” which was started by two Notre Dame graduates who found themselves unemployed after graduating in tough economic times. In a stomp for money, the graduates started to sell their and their roommate’s abandoned college textbooks over the Internet. Before they knew it, they had raised some 2,000 books by collaborating with their local community center, generating some $10,000 in six months, according to the bookstore’s website.
At the core of the quirky company’s business motto, one of the core values is to “be true to your quirktastic self,” lays the commitment to promoting literacy in local and international communities where it is needed, according their website.
BWB has been working with one of the drive’s other coordinators, Prison Book Program for four years. BWB’s goal of bringing literacy to places where it is needed fits well with PBP’s sole commitment, “to send free books to prisoners.”
The organization also compiles and distributes documents and other resources regarding health care, getting a General Education Diploma (GED) and policy to distribute to currently incarcerated prisoners.
Together with the City Mission Society of Boston, an urban social justice agency that serves some 3,000 people every year, the organizers hope to outdo last year’s record, which numbered in the tens of thousands of books.
For more information, visit: www.prisonbookprogram.org/bookdrive
Held at the Non-Profit Center on Boston’s 89 South Street, the drive will begin at 10 a.m. and continue until 3 p.m. rain or shine. The organizers suggest rounding up extra books in the community and bringing them to the center, where volunteers are there to help unload.
Friends Read Free