You have until December 30 to donate some of your unneeded books to those that will be spending New Year’s Eve (and probably many more days) in prison. Wallingford’s own Open Books will be accepting your donated books until closing time (at 6pm), and in exchange, you can select a free volume of poetry!
The books are being collected for Books to Prisoners. If you’re unfamiliar with them, their website explains it best:
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. We 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.
Books to Prisoners was founded in the early 1970s and 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 Bellingham Books To Prisoners – who offer opportunities for volunteers and donors outside of Seattle.
More information, including a list of the types of books desired, is available in this story from the Stranger.