Books To Prisoners is a Seattle-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to foster a love of reading behind bars, encourage the pursuit of knowledge and self-empowerment, and break the cycle of recidivism. They believe that books are tools for learning and for opening minds to new ideas and possibilities, and engage incarcerated individuals with the benefits of reading by mailing tens of thousands of free books to inmates across the country each year. In 2015, the City of Seattle recognized Books to Prisoners as a Human Rights Leader.

 

Their organization is almost entirely funded by personal donation, so these amounts are deeply significant to then! $200 pays for the postage involved in sending out 50-60ish packages – a little bit less than ~0.7% of their yearly postage costs – or well over a month’s worth of wrapping paper and mailing supplies. $1000 pays about 1/30th of our yearly postage costs, or 3/4ths of the monthly rent for our office/library space!

 

 

Books to Prisoners is sponsored by Left Bank Books. As one of the largest and oldest prison book projects in the country, Books to Prisoners works in partnership with other groups that support prisoner literacy and promote social justice. Though our headquarters are in Seattle, we have three associate organizations – Portland Books To Prisoners, Books To Prisoners Olympia, and Books to Prisoners Spokane – who offer opportunities for volunteers and donors outside of Seattle.

Thank you for your generous donations.

As always, if you have an organization that you wish to nominate for Sunday cause of the month, we invite you to fill out the online Sunday Cause nomination form.