Archive for July, 2011

Chicago Books to Women in Prison in the Welles Park Bulldog News

As the Ravenswood corridor continues to garner attention for its industrial warehouses converted into lofts for booming technology start-ups, one office in a renovated building is home to a collective dedicated to helping people whose futures are bleak, regardless of any potential upturn in the economy.

Every Sunday afternoon, the volunteers of Chicago Books to Women in Prison meet at 4001 North Ravenswood, just north of Irving Park Road. They open letters from female prisoners across the country, look for three used paperback books that match each request, and package them for shipping to women in desperate need of something with which to bide their time.

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Arline Welty, Co-Founder of CWBP, Honored in Windy City Times 30 Under 30

For the twelfth year running, Windy City Times celebrates Pride by bestowing honors upon 30 individuals under the age of 30 who have, in their young lives, already made significant contributions to Chicago’s LGBT community and beyond. This year, we actually increased the number of honorees to 33.

Here’s what they have to say about Arline:

Arline, 29, co-founded Chicago Books to Women in Prison 10 years ago while thinking about race and politics at the University of Chicago. Today, the bookish queers and prison abolitionists of Books to Women in Prison have sent more than 100,000 paperback books through bars. Arline enjoys literary criticism, Bitch magazine and presidential biographies. She is the communications manager at PortionPac, a local manufacturer of sustainable cleaning concentrates.

Did you know? When she’s not reading and writing, Arline is totally monogamous with her Wustof Grand Prix chef’s knife.

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