Veteran's Day and 11-11-11 Greetings!
We at Connecting Now give thanks and gratitude to all who have served our country and thereby served our freedom. It's ironic then that today we would ask for your support for those whose actions have caused them to lose their freedom.
Prisoners.
In one of those instances of "way leading to way," we met Ashunda Norris from "Books to Prisons" —a DC-based ministry that collects and sends used (and new) paperbacks to prisons across the country.
But why should we care about prisoners (besides the fact that they're fellow human beings)?
Jesus on the final judgment: Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Matthew 25:34-36 ESV (bold print ours)
Most of us will never enter a prison, and yet we can reach out to prisoners through words. We've got plenty of them here!!! Do you have any lounging around your home? The program is currently in need of paperbacks in the following categories:
How to books (woodworking, plumbing, gardening, car mechanics, small motor repair, etc.)
GED prep
How to books (woodworking, plumbing, gardening, car mechanics, small motor repair, etc.)
GED prep
Drawing or art
Science
Personal finance or starting a business
Science
Personal finance or starting a business
Dictionaries (English, Spanish-English)
Spanish textbooks
Atlases and almanacs
American Indians, Mayans, Aztecs
African-American, Latin American or classical (Roman, Greek) history
Fiction
Spanish textbooks
Atlases and almanacs
American Indians, Mayans, Aztecs
African-American, Latin American or classical (Roman, Greek) history
Fiction
If you have even one book to donate, Ashunda said they'd be grateful for it. Paperbacks can be sent directly to her; she'll gather them and get them where they need to go. Please make sure to remove/cover all identifying information.
Her address is:
Ashunda Norris
3506 Heidi Lane
Springdale, MD 20774
She'd also be grateful if you helped spread the word—no pun intended! (bold again ours)
Well, Dear Readers, that's it for another week.
For all of you who have served or are serving our country, we thank you.
And may we never forget from Whom our freedom comes.
Patrioticlly Yours,
Lisa and Maddie
Lovely! I've got way more books here than I need--will put this on my to-do list for next week.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this info. I have a lot of books, in fact so many I turned our spare room into a library! :) I will go through and see what I can give away to this awesome cause.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Lisa I wanted to thank you too, my book from you arrived and I could not be more excited to read it!
Sneaking away over night with the hubbie...to a near by city just to get away and reconnect, I might take the book for the drive there?!!
Thank you so much!
Great idea!
ReplyDeleteI was just reading about sending books to prisoners last night!!! A dear friend's son is in prison and requested books in his last letter. I was reading on-line and discovered that Stephen King is extremely popular - books by popular authors are used as currency, and you can get a lot of soap and coffee and such for one of his novels. Who would have thought? We have about 20 or so of his paperbacks languishing in the attic.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this, Lisa!
Melody, glad it arrived in one piece--have a wonderful trip!
ReplyDeleteCat, thanks for that added info! And for your service to our country!
And thanks to everyone who sends books:).
What an excellent idea, my thoughtful chiks!
ReplyDeleteMentoring at a women's prison is one of the most rewarding things I've every done. At this particular facility, there's a two-year waiting list of inmates wanting to join us because we need more mentors. Thanks for the book information. I'll definitely check to see if that's available here.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information, it's now on my soon-to-do-list!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great project! I'll love seeing my books go to blessing others. Thank you for making us aware of this ministry.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Pamela
We just weeded out a ton of books and they aren't going for much online so we hadn't decided what to do with them. But I think we probably have a few that fit those categories. We'll try to send them out! Is she accepting them indefinitely? Not that we'll put it off forever, but might not be this week.
ReplyDeleteOh thank you so much for sharing this! My husbands little brother is serving quite a long term and his fondest desire is good reading material! I just wrote a post about it to help spread the word :D
ReplyDeletehttp://socialstudiesmomma.blogspot.com/2011/11/something-really-cool-to-do-with-your.html
Have a blessed day!
love your post! thanks for sharing... loves soraya
ReplyDeleteVery cool. Will check out my library tonight and send some one over.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone! Your enthusiasm is a blessing.
ReplyDeleteI'm on my way out the door with 3 boxes for Ashunda. Woot!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome! I'll get mine out tomorrow!!!!
ReplyDelete