Chicago Books to Women in Prison

Support CBWP at The Printer’s Ball July 30

Chicago Books to Women in Prison — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:34:15 +0000

On Friday, July 30, Chicago hosts The Printers’ Ball (http://www.printersball.org/), a celebration of all things creative involving paper, arts, and words. The organizers have generously offered to host a booth for CBWP! Stop by to show your support, pick up a copy of our zine Bound Struggles, and make a blank journal that will be sent to an incarcerated woman.”

Lesbian Leadership Council approves $2,500 grant!

Chicago Books to Women in Prison — Wed, 26 May 2010 02:43:07 +0000

We want to thank the Chicago Foundation for Women’s Lesbian Leadership Council for recommending a $2,500 grant to Chicago Books to Women in Prison! We will receive the grant in June. Thank you so much! We are especially touched because this grant was unsolicited. Thank you Lesbian Leadership Council!

Reading Karaoke hosted by Chicago BWP Chicago, March 20th, 2010

Chicago Books to Women in Prison — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:41:43 +0000

Welcome to a “Reading Karaoke”, a literary geek-out to celebrate the joys of reading, and to learn how people surviving prison terms deal with limited access to books. Volunteers from Chicago Books to Women in Prison will moderate a laid back evening of conversation at Mess Hall (6932 North Glenwood Avenue) on Saturday March 20, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. After 9:00, the evening will continue to an after-party at the Red Line Tap (7006 N. Glenwood).

Apart from talking about favorite books, the activities will include a round-table discussion of why prisons (and the realities of prison funding) restrict inmate’s reading materials. Attendees may sign up to be matched with pen pals in prison, or may choose to solve the puzzle of finding books for CBWP’s most difficult orders.

The event also offers a chance to put the overflow from your book collection to good use, with a book drive to collect donations of paperback dictionaries, poetry, Spanish-language novels, blank journals, and other softcover books. Blank journals are especially in demand because they are so useful for class work, letters, drawings, and diaries.

Chicago Books to Women in Prison, an all-volunteer collective that mails paperback books to women in prisons in nine states. CBWP is dedicated to offering women behind bars the opportunity for self-empowerment, education, and entertainment that reading provides. Incarcerated women send their requests for books directly to CBWP, which then gathers on Sunday afternoons to fill the requests and package the books, which are largely donated by individuals around Chicago.

Mess Hall is an experimental cultural center that offers space for classes, exhibitions, meetings, dinners, lectures, readings, concerts, screenings and art happenings. A storefront space in the Roger’s Park neighborhood, Mess Hall offers city residents a dynamic gathering place where they can share resources and ideas.

CONTACT:

Mess Hall
6932 North Glenwood Avenue Chicago, IL 60626
info@messhall.org www.messhall.org
El: Red line to Morse

Chicago Books to Women in Prison
c/o Beyondmedia Education
4001 N. Ravenswood Ave #204B, Chicago, IL 60613
chicagobwp@hotmail.com

http://chicagobwp.org/

Cocktails and Games! A Fundraiser at Ts

dr23schlesinger — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 01:12:08 +0000

Come have fun with friends and help raise money for Chicago Books to Women in Prison!

Join us at T’s (http://www.yelp.com/biz/ts-bar-and-restaurant-chicago) on Thursday, June 18, at 7pm.

No Cover. Just come hang out (in the back room) and Chicago Books to Women in Prison will get 10% of whatever you spend on food and liquor. Or drink a ‘books to prisoners’ shot for $5, and all of the money will go to the books project!

There will be raffles, arm wrestling, and the always great food and drink of Ts.

Food, Drink and Fun! with 10% going to CBWP!

dr23schlesinger — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 01:05:16 +0000

Come have fun with friends and help raise money for
Chicago Books to Women in Prison!

Please join us at T’s on Thursday, June 18 at 7:00pm.

CBWP will get 10% of whatever you spend on food and liquor (and T’s food is delicious). Or drink a ‘books to prisoners’ shot for $5 and buy raffle tickets, and all of the money will go to the book project. No cover, just come eat, drink, win raffle prizes, and enjoy a Thursday night out for a great cause!

T’s
5025 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60640
http://www.yelp. com/biz/ts- bar-and-restaura nt-chicago

Please pass this invitation along and invite all of your friends!

Can’t make it to T’s?
Learn more about Chicago Books to Women in Prison at http://chicagobwp. org/about- us/
and send donations to
ChicagoBooks to Women in Prison
c/o BeyondMedia Education4001 N Ravenswood Ave #204C
Chicago, IL 60613

Judge: Sexual abuse of inmates “distressingly common”

dr23schlesinger — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:56:19 +0000

This past Wednesday, a U.S. Circuit Judge in Colorado made a powerful statement against sexual abuse in detention. Judge David M. Ebel ruled in a civil case against a corrections officer for his sexual assault of an inmate in Denver Women’s Correctional Facility. The judge awarded the survivor $1.3 million, saying he hoped to send a message that sexual abuse in prison will not be tolerated.

book donations: what we need

dr23schlesinger — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 14:45:45 +0000

Looking to donate? Here’s what we need!

PAPERBACK ONLY!

Dictionaries
Urban fiction
Lesbian fiction
Composition books
Daily meditations
GED prep books, or any math or writing workbooks
Books on drug or alcohol recovery
Yoga or exercise books
Health books for HIV positive people
Health books for people with Hepatitis C
Books on Wicca
Books on racism and/or mass imprisonment

PAPERBACK ONLY!

Thanks for all of your help in stocking our library!

Prison Boom: an Update on the Facts

dr23schlesinger — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 02:32:35 +0000

After remaining steady for almost 100 years, imprisonment rates increased from 111 in 1974 to nearly 500 by 2000; anti-prison activist refer to this surge as the ‘prison boom’. Currently, 1.5 million people are in prison and more than 7 million are under some form of correctional control. Not only this 4.5 million people have been to prison at some point in their lives and are now back in their communities suffering from a variety of legalized discrimination. And it’s not only the scale of imprisonment, but also the color. Blacks are six times more likely than whites to be imprisoned and Latinos are twice as likely as whites to be imprisoned. And while racial disparity in imprisonment has been a social reality since emancipation, the prison boom increases the impact of this disparity. In addition to all of this, between 1974 and 1996, women’s chances of going to prison at some point during their lives increased 6 times; men’s increased 3 times during the same period. As a result, while in 1980, only 4% of prisoners were women, by 2000, more than 7% Black women and white men have nearly the same chances of serving time: 3.6% and 4.4% respectively.

Kissing Booths, Pies and Rocking Out: August 23

Chicago Books to Women in Prison — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:16:15 +0000

Chicago Books to Women in Prison presents a night of activity stations & great music at our home base, Beyondmedia Education. Let’s eat sweet and savory pies, rock to 2 bands, make out in the kissing booth, and pack books at the activity station of book requests from people in women’s prisons.

When: Saturday, August 23, 2008, 7:00pm – 10:00pm

Where: 4001 N Ravenswood #204c, Chicago

Cost: $5-$25 at the door, sliding scale, plus cash bar.
Free drink ticket with every paperback dictionary you bring.

If you’re on facebook, you can view this event here. No need to RSVP, just bring the party!

Shop Women & Children First in July!

Chicago Books to Women in Prison — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:18:05 +0000

We are proud to announce that Chicago’s fabulous feminist bookstore, Women & Children First, has made us their organization of the month for the month of July!

This means that W&CF will be generously donating 10% of every purchase to Chicago Books to Women in Prison. All you have to do is print out this coupon and present it at the time of purchase. Stock up because this promotion only lasts through July!

A big THANK YOU to Women And Children First for supporting our organization!