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501 (C)(3) Tax Exempt Number: 20-2482593
 

Prison Project

  
 

It is very difficult to donate books to prisons.  For security reasons prison officials must be very careful about what inmates are allowed to accept from outsiders.  Yet, there is a great need in prisons for books that can be used by young men and women who are trying to improve their lives by earning a degree.

We were  recently astounded when we listened to a young man, Andres Idarraga,  explain in a presentation  how, after five years Rhode at ACI Rhode Island, he had been accepted to and was enrolling at Brown University.  We were fascinated to hear not only how he had taken courses while incarcerated but also just how much difficulty he had faced in completing two years toward his degree.

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We were disturbed by two revelations.  First, academic books are generally unavailable and prison rules prevent inmates from sharing what does become available.  Andres attributed his success to tremendous family support but he was quick to point out that most inmates with similar ambitions and abilities are hindered by a lack of family support as well as insufficient funds  to obtain the requisite books.   

We are thrilled to report that since originally writing this story Andres has graduated from Brown and enrolled at Yale's law school.

Project Book cannot do much to change family situations but we can help with the book problem.  We are convinced there are individuals and institutions in our New England education community that will help. There are inmates that truly wish to turn around their lives and college libraries as well as other institutions and individuals can help with almost no effort.  Thus far, several colleges and universities have shown their support by donating a number of academic books that we are using to raise proceeds to donate to the prison to enable student inmates to purchase requisite texts and supporting books.  We funnel the money through the CCRI Foundation which actually operates the degree program. But, we need a great deal more help from many sources.

Here is our plan:

1.

We are working hard to recruit support from college libraries and professors both of whom often have excellent surplus books.

  
2.

If the donated books are appropriate and will pass inspection we will donate them  directly to the prisons.

  
3.

If the titles are not needed or will not pass inspection Project Book will sell the books and deposit the funds in an account that will be distributed to prison officials who will use the funds to purchase new texts for the students.

  

Project Book is a 501 ( C ) (3) non-profit organization incorporated in Rhode Island with the expressed goal to to promote education and literacy.  If you review our website you will see several of our recipients which range from confined individuals to troops in Iraq to elderly people confined to nursing homes.  We have also donated many books to elementary and high school libraries as well as a few public libraries with specific needs.  The prison project is our largest undertaking.

Please call us or contact us by email to make arrangements for us to pick up your donation.