On Thursday, March 19th the Midwest Pages to Prisoners Project is holding a Pack-A-Thon at its space next to Boxcar Books and Community Center at 310 S Washington Street, near the corner of Third and Washington Streets, across from Third Street Park. The event will start at 2pm on Thursday afternoon and go a full 12 hours until 2am that night.
The Midwest Pages to Prisoners Project currently has a backlog of book requests from prisoners that spans at least three months. With the help of Pack-A-Thon volunteers, we hope to significantly reduce that backlog!
Volunteers at the Pack-A-Thon will be reading letters sent from prisoners, filling requests for books from our collection of books donated by members of the Bloomington community, and packaging those books so that they are ready to be mailed. No prior experience is necessary, and training will be provided to new volunteers on the hour, every hour.
While we hope to get a lot of work done, this will also be a fun and festive event, so bring music, snacks and beverages to share, as well as everyone you know! Additionally, book donations and donations of packing supplies such as envelopes large enough to hold 3 books, large sheets of paper that could be used to wrap packages of books, or packing tape will be very useful.
For more information, contact the Midwest Pages to Prisoners Project at midwestpagestoprisoners@yahoo.com, pagestoprisoners.org, or 812.339.8710.
For those unable to attend this special event, Pages meets several times every week to help send books to the imprisoned. The regularly scheduled meeting times are Mondays (during the school year) from 7-9pm , Thursdays from 7-11pm, and Sundays from 2-5pm.
The Midwest Pages to Prisoners Project is an all volunteer effort that strives to provide free reading material to prisoners in the United States. By providing free reading materials upon request, we hope to aid in the rehabilitation process and stimulate critical thinking behind bars. Our volunteers are concerned citizens and activists interested in rehabilitation, rather than punishment.
The project exists to alleviate pain, boredom, and attrition and to provide a direct opportunity for self-education. Additionally, we exist because prison libraries sometimes fail in this respect, and are understocked, or are only able to be patronized during specific and limited hours. Finally, The Midwest Pages to Prisoners Project exists to inform others about the condition of the prison system in Indiana and throughout the nation and the effects of incarceration on our communities. Through the letters and books that we send and receive, we hope to build connections between those who are within the criminal justice system, and their communities at large.