Books to Prisoners is a 100% volunteer-run, nonprofit organization. We couldn’t provide any of the services we do without the generous support from our wonderful team of volunteers! As an organization, we ALWAYS welcome new volunteers. As a volunteer with Books to Prisoners, you can become as much or as little involved as you would like to be. Also, you can begin volunteering immediately. There are no training sessions required prior to volunteering. Simply show up to volunteer during our regularly-scheduled hours of operation, and we’ll happily train you as we go. Regular volunteer tasks include:
- Reading letters from inmates and matching their book requests with applicable materials.
- Shelving recently donated books.
- Wrapping completed requests into neat little packages to be sent through the mail.
We also drink tea, eat a lot of popcorn, listen to music, and socialize while we work. Join us!
Feel free to drop by the site during the hours of operation with any questions you may have about volunteering.
Books to Prisoners loves interns! As an intern with BtP, we expect you come prepared with at least a rough idea of what you would like to learn. (Don’t be afraid if you don’t have an exact project planned out, yet. You’re here to learn. We’ll be happy to work with you to figure out a project that meets both your interests and our needs.) Some examples of areas of study for internships are:
- adult literacy
- business and management
- communications
- community building
- consciousness studies
- consensus-based organizing
- cultural studies
- government / policy-making
- group dynamics
- history
- law and public policy
- leadership studies
- literature
- media arts
- npo/ngo organization
- prison industrial complex
- sociology
- statistics
- writing as media
This is not a complete list! If you have an idea for a project that is not based out of any of these disciplines but would benefit BtP, we’d be delighted to hear about it and work with you to help make your idea come to fruition. We have never refused to work with an intern!
The internship process at Books to Prisoners: Generally, we ask that interns volunteer with us for at least a couple weeks to understand how Books to Prisoners currently works before undertaking any potentially significantly-organizationally-altering projects. Drop by the site during normal hours of operation to begin volunteering and to talk with the group about your internship ideas. (You can also contact keyholders through Facebook or email if you would like to introduce us to your project ideas before stopping by.) After talking to you about your internship plan and likely discussing it with the collective as well, any keyholder can sign off on any paperwork your school or institution requires for internships. Though we understand some projects require less one-on-one face time than others, we like to stay in close contact with all our interns for the duration of their internships. This allows us to ensure a positive educational experience for all our interns and provide support. We can’t help you unless you tell us what you need! The majority of our interns continue to volunteer on and off with us long after their internships are finished.
Books to Prisoners thrives on donations! Please visit the “donate” link in the right sidebar for more information.
So you want to get involved with Books to Prisoners but perhaps our hours don’t work for you or just don’t feel like traditional volunteering or interning is calling to you? Have no fear! Books to Prisoners is flexible. Occasional, “sometimes” volunteers are an essential part of making Books to Prisoners run smoothly. These volunteers:
- drive packages of books to the post office
- sell materials Books to Prisoners can’t send to prisoners to local bookstores for in-store credit
- staff fundraising events
- organize fundraising events
- drive packages to Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen, WA
- craft Books to Prisoners buttons and screen-printed shirts to sell
- make food for Books to Prisoners fundraisers
Don’t see your talent on that list? Add it! We love new ideas from people who would like to get involved! If you can’t stop by during our hours of operation, contact us through either Facebook or email to suggest how you would like to get involved.
Sundays: 2-5 PM (woman or trans only day)
Mondays: 5-8 PM (everyone welcome)
(Please note: Our keyholders are amazingly talented, very busy people. Every once in awhile one of the keyholders responsible for starting the shift may run just a few minutes late. Please be patient.)
The Books to Prisoners space is located at the corner of 6th Ave. SW and Thomas St. SW on Olympia’s westside. (Intercity Transit buses 41, 48, 49, and 411 get you within six blocks of our site. Get off at Harrison and Decatur St. and walk south.) When we are open, you will see our signs on the corner as well as in the garden beds at the back of the house. Our space is in the basement, so follow the signs through the garage to the door to our workspace.