Bellingham Books To Prisoners
Books To Prisoners is an all-volunteer, non-profit group that sends free books to prisoners in the U.S.
Bellingham Books To Prisoners is an all-volunteer, Washington State non-profit group that sends free books to prisoners throughout the U.S. We are an affiliate of the Seattle Books To Prisoners (www.bookstoprisoners.net). Letters from prisoners are sent to Seattle, then forwarded to us. We are responsible for getting donated books, finding volunteers, and raising money for postage and supplies. Seattle receives from 600-800 letters a month from prisoners; last year Bellingham answered over 800 of those letters.
To get a sense of the importance of every package, and how we touch the lives of so many people around the country, watch this short video. We need your time and donations to answer letters like these and pay the postage to send books out to those who simply want something positive to look forward to. (more…)
-
Why We Do What We Do
-
In 2008, over 2.3 million people were in state or federal prisons in the United States. Prisons are being increasingly privatized and prison libraries are being shut down. We believe that books are tools for learning and opening minds to new ideas and possibilities. By sending books to prisoners, ...(more...)
-
Money for Postage
-
We send our books via the US Post Office book rate to make the most of your generous contributions. As postage rates rise, we need even more of your help. We have lots of books to wrap and send in response to the many letters from prisoners. Please help us ...(more...)
-
Donate Books
-
Have some books to donate? You can help a prisoner by donating new or used books to BTP. (We can’t use older textbooks or books in poor condition) You can stop by during a packing meeting and drop your books off, or you can email us at info@bellinghambtp.org or call us a ...(more...)
-
Volunteer Your Time
-
Whether you can spend one or ten hours answering letters, wrapping packages, or raising money for postage, BTP needs your help. Answer Letters and Wrap Packages Come to one of our packing meetings, every Monday night, 6-9, and simply open a letter from a prisoner, find a book in our library that ...(more...)
Book and Bake Sale, July 10th!
SATURDAY, JULY 10TH
We’ll be setting up our tables outside the Farmers’ Market, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. We’re selling the many, many copies of new hardback fiction books that have been donated to us — for $1/each. We’re selling baked goods, organic and as-local-as-we-can-get. Stop by and check it out. Tell your friends to check it out. We hope to see you there!
No More First Sunday Meetings!
Due to lack of volunteer turnout, we are discontinuing our first Sunday of the month meetings.
We will still meet every Monday night from 6pm-9pm, and we hope to see you there!
No Sunday Meeting in April!
Normally, our schedule of packing meetings includes the first Sunday of the month from 1pm to 4pm (as well as every Monday from 6pm to 9pm).
Since the first Sunday in April–the 4th–falls on Easter, we will not have a meeting that day. This means there is no Sunday afternoon packing meeting for April.
All of our regular Monday packing meetings (including April 5th) are still on, so we hope to see you there!
Questions? Email us at info@bellinghambtp.org
CHUCKANUT BREWERY BENEFIT CONCERT!
What: Benefit Concert for Bellingham Books To Prisoners
When: Saturday, March 27, 7:30 pm – 11:00 pm
Where: Chuckanut Brewery, 601 West Holly Street
Who:
***The Holy Tailfeathers
***Sweet Medicine
***Lovage
***Clarence Gallagher & Company
$5 suggested donation at the door–all admission donations qualify for special 2 to 1 donation matching!
Raffle & door prizes!
All ages–beer available for 21+, so everyone come have a good time and help out BTP.
Benefit Show at the Cabin!
Saturday, March 20th
10pm
The Cabin Tavern, 307 West Holly
Featuring:
***RHOMBUS,
***the rib cages (from Portland!) &
***Party Thighs
Admission: $3 suggested donation (all admission donations qualify for March two for one donation matching!)
21 AND OVER ONLY
Come, have a beer and have some fun!
Questions? info@bellinghambtp.org
BTP Benefit Show at Bloom
The first of our upcoming benefit shows will be Friday, February 26th at Bloom (Bellingham’s new vegan restaurant at 1320 Cornwall Avenue). All ages welcome, alcohol available to adults.
The show will run from 9pm-12:30am. Admission is by donation ($5 suggested) and all admission donations qualify for 2 to 1 donation matching!
Featuring local musicians donating their time and talent:
*** 9:00-9:45 Sher Vadinska, local singer/songwriter
*** 10:00-11:00 Clarence Gallagher & Company, old time blues and ragtime
*** 11:30-12:30 Sir Reginald Cosgrove and his Nighttime Singers, Beatles meet Buddy Holly meets Bellingham
Raffle tickets and cool Bellingham BTP t-shirts for sale, too!
Come have some fun, listen to some great music, and help out BTP.
Questions? info@bellinghambtp.org
Planning Meeting
EVERYONE WELCOME!
Planning Meeting:
Sunday, January 24th 1pm
We will have a potluck lunch, bring something if you want to, or just come and share.
This will be a chance to get together and talk, and get to know each other a little bit. We know there are a lot of good ideas out there about better ways to run the program and different ways to raise money; the more people contribute ideas the easier it is to get things done. You can also find out how we did last year, and where we stand now.
Everyone is welcome. If you have any questions, or if you have some ideas but absolutely can’t make this meeting, please give me a call at 733-9099.
We hope to see lots of people on Sunday!
Celebrate MLK day with “Books not Bars”
***12th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Human Rights Conference***
Saturday, January 16, 2010 10am-5pm (registration beginning 9:30am)
Whatcom Community College, Syre Center
Bellingham Books to Prisoners will be featured as The Whatcom Human Rights Task Force and Whatcom Community College present the MLK Human Rights Conference! The theme of this year’s conference will be, “Books not Bars: Education, the Media and America’s Prison System,” so we are especially honored to be involved.
BTP will be making an on-stage presentation during the 1pm Afternoon Keynote Address–don’t miss it!
We will also be at the conference all day with information about BTP–visitors will have the chance to read actual prisoner letters to get a sense of what we do and why we do it. We will be accepting donations for postage, and selling our great t-shirts as a fundraiser. The packages of books can’t get out the door without your help!
In addition, there will be the opportunity to buy a dictionary (or many!) for a prisoner. Dictionaries are, by far, our most highly requested item, and $6 is a great bargain for a powerful tool of education and self-improvement.
The conference is free and open to all. It will be held on the Whatcom Community College Campus at the Syre Center. There will be over 20 workshops and the MLK Youth Summit. Free parking and light refreshments.
Please consider dropping by and checking out the conference–and Bellingham Books to Prisoners!
For information about Bellingham BTP, call 733-9099 or email info@bellinghambtp.org.
For information about the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force or the MLK Conference, email whrtf@whrtf.org
Cut-a-Thon!
On Monday, January 11th, from 11-6, the stylists at the Looking Glass Salon are donating their time to help Bellingham BTP!
Get a great hair cut for $20 and help send books to prisoners! Money for postage is our biggest obstacle, and the cut-a-thon is wonderful way to get those packages out and look good doing it.
Last year, appointments sold out, so stop by the salon and make a pre-paid reservation!
When: Monday, January 11th, 11am-6pm
Where: The Looking Glass Salon, 118 East Magnolia Street (corner of Railroad)
What: All hair cuts $20, with all proceeds benefiting Bellingham BTP.
Questions?
Email us at: info@bellinghambtp.org
or call the salon at: (360) 676-1887
We’re Taking a Holiday Break!
Our new “every Monday night is a packing meeting night” has been wildly successful. We have volunteers, we have books, and we even have money for postage — what’s in short supply right now are letters from prisoners. The need is as great as ever, but there’s fewer letters coming to us from the Seattle BTP office. We’ve greatly outpaced our previous packing rate, and the system still has to catch up!
This is a temporary situation, but since Seattle is shutting down for the last two weeks of December, we’re going to do the same. So the next packing meetings are:
*** Our regular once-a-month Sunday afternoon, December 6th, from 1:00-4:00
*** Immediately followed by Monday night, December 7th, from 6:00-9:00
*** The last 2009 meeting, Monday night, December 14th, from 6:00-9:00
We will start up again with Sunday, January 3rd in the afternoon and Monday, January 4th in the evening.
If you have questions or need directions, email us at info@bellinghambtp.org or call us at 733-9099.
BTP will be at the Alternative Holiday Market, 11/22
The 2009 MULTI-FAITH ALTERNATIVE HOLIDAY MARKET will be held Sunday at the Bloedel-Donovan Community Building, Bellingham, from 1pm-4pm. Map
Bellingham BTP will be there, and by attending you will have the chance to support other local causes, such as: the Bellingham Food Bank, Brigid Collins, Boys & Girls Club of Whatcom County, Conservation Northwest, Marianne’s House, Sean Humphrey House, Fair Trade Foods, Fair Trade Haven, WomenCare Shelter, Whatcom Peace and Justice Center, Opportunity Council (and Fresh Start Espresso), NW Indian College Foundation, Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault, Whatcom Land Trust, Meals on Wheels, Whatcom Volunteer Center, Whatcom Homeless Service Center, and Whatcom Human Rights Task Force.
You will also be able to support far reaching causes, like Amnesty International, Bread for the World, Church World Service, Children of Peace Foundation, Slum Doctor Programme, Atfaluna, SERRV, Centro Santa Catalina, Beads for Life, and Make a Wish Foundation.
This is an opportunity to find out more about our organization (and many others), read prisoner letters, and do some good. BTP will be offering prisoner art, Holiday Gift Donation Cards, and several silent auction items. All our proceeds will go directly to sending books to prisoners.
Admission is by donation to the Bellingham Food Bank
We Now Meet Every Week!
At our last planning meeting, we decided to change our packing meeting schedule to meet more frequently and eliminate confusion about when to show up. We are trying out a new, 5 times a month, packing schedule (at least through the new year, at which point we will re-evaluate).
OUR NEW PACKING SCHEDULE:
EVERY MONDAY NIGHT, 6:00-9:00pm
FIRST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH, in the AFTERNOON, 1:00-4:00pm
We hope these added dates will make it possible for EVEN MORE volunteers to join us! C’mon! We’re cool! It’s fun! And Worthwhile!
If you are interested in being a bigger part of Bellingham Books to Prisoners, please consider joining us at our planning meetings. Everyone is welcome!
OUR NEW PLANNING SCHEDULE:
THIRD THURSDAY OF THE MONTH, 5:00pm
(Planning meetings are in our usual space and last around 1 to 2 hours)
All meetings are in our space at the back of Rocket Donuts. If you have questions, or need directions, please e-mail us: info@bellinghambtp.org or call 733-9099.
Next Packing Meeting: Monday 11/9 6-9pm
Our next packing meeting is on Monday, November 9th, 6pm-9pm. Come when you like; stay as long as you want. As usual, we’ll be answering prisoner letters, wrapping packages and having a great time. (At our last meeting we broke a Bellingham BTP record by preparing 55 packages of books!)
There will be greeting cards featuring (gorgeous) prisoner art, and a zine of prisoner literature for sale, so think about bringing your check book or some cash. All proceeds go to mailing those cool packages we put together!
Also, our monthly planning meeting starts an hour before the packing meeting in our space at the back of Rocket Donuts. Absolutely everyone is welcome at the planning meeting (and the packing meetings, too, of course). Come get involved!
Questions? Need directions to our space? Email us at: info@bellinghambtp.org
Come to the Planning Meeting! 11/9 5pm
On Monday, November 9th we’re having our monthly planning meeting. Everyone is welcome! Got ideas for fund raising? Innovations? Just want to be more involved with BTP? Join us an hour before the regular 2nd Monday packing meeting! We’re meeting at 5pm in our usual space and we hope to see lots of new faces.
Got questions? Call 733-9099 or email us at info@bellinghambtp.org
Next Packing Meeting: Sunday, 11/1 1-4pm
Our next packing meeting will be this coming Sunday, November 1st–and, remember, it’s an afternoon meeting instead of evening! The hours will 1:00pm to 4:00pm, and we hope to see everybody there!
We meet in our space at the back of Rocket Donuts–if you haven’t attended a meeting before, email us at info@bellinghambtp.org for directions–or if you have any questions.
(One benefit of the afternoon packing meetings is that Rocket Donuts is open until 4:00–and, honestly, what goes better with Sunday than donuts and coffee? Mmmm…donuts….)
