Did you know that Read Between the Bars is completely run by volunteers and donations? That is why we are so appreciative of the local businesses and community groups that allow us to share our mission to help gather donations. We have had a few places help us out over the last year, and just want to thank them for helping the Arizona community!
A big thank you to…
To find out more about any of these organizations, click on 
the links above.
Read Between the Bars is excited to announce a new drop-off location for book donations. With the help of a generous grant from the Sparkplug Foundation, Read Between the Bars has been able to purchase a new book donation bin, and with the support of the University of Arizona Poetry Center, that donation bin has been set up in the Poetry Center building at 1508 East Helen Street on the UA campus in Tucson.
The donation bin is located in the Poetry Center’s library. Supporters can leave their new and gently used books in the bin during the Poetry Center’s business hours.
This new donation bin will provide supporters with a second location where they can donate their books. Book donations can still be left at the Tucson office of the American Friends Service Committee at 103 North Park Avenue, Suite 111, in Tucson. Additionally, books can be dropped off at any of our announced book-packing parties.
For making possible the supply of books that have kept RBtB’s books-to-prisoners program running for the last six years, RBtB would like to thank the UA Poetry Center, the American Friends Service Committee Arizona Office, the Sparkplug Foundation, and the many community supporters who have donated their books to support RBtB’s mission.
Read Between the Bars is turning five in 2012! The RBtB collective was founded in 2007 in response to the growing rate of incarceration in Arizona and a grossly inadequate commitment to providing educational resources to prisoners. RBtB’s vision was to get free books directly into the hands of prisoners as a way to provide comfort in a harsh prison environment and awaken new areas of interest that can help prisoners, both now and after release from prison.
Five years later, RBtB has sent thousands of books to people behind bars and continues its commitment to act as an ally to the many people who are caught in a burgeoning prison system that ignores many of their needs. To mark its anniversary, RBtB has launched a campaign to reach 500 likes on its Facebook page by the end of the year–500 likes for five years of service. With a strong show of support, RBtB will look more appealing to potential donors and show that Arizonans want better solutions to social problems than an increasingly profit-driven and increasingly punitive prison system.
In addition to the Facebook campaign, RBtB wants to celebrate with birthday parties. A great way to support Arizona’s books-to-prisoners program is to have a birthday party for RBtB’s five-year anniversary. RBtB volunteers have prepared a Fundraising House Party Guide (PDF) that supporters can download and read to get ideas on how to bring friends, co-workers, and neighbors together to raise funds to send books to prisoners. RBtB’s postage costs are a continual challenge, sometimes delaying the shipment of requested books by up to six months. But fundraising house parties have had an excellent track record of success for countless nonprofits, and their timing for RBtB couldn’t be better during this milestone year. Let the parties begin!
Hello, readers! Our volunteers will soon be busy baking brownies, cupcakes, cookies, and more for our bake sale at the 4th Avenue Street Fair this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We’ll be selling our baked goods at Casa Libre en la Solana (228 N. 4th Ave., a little bit north of The Book Stop and a little bit south of A Foam & Fabric Place) to help us raise funds to keep sending books to prisoners. Stop by for a delicious way to help us send out our backlog of book requests!
Read Between the Bars 