Organize books for children of incarcerated parents (La Grange)

Purpose

Companions Journeying Together provides programs of compassion for incarcerated people & their families in Illinois. We are perhaps most well known for our Aunt Mary's Storybook program which connects people in custody with the children most important to them through reading and literacy. We also coordinate pen-pal groups and facilitate Christmas Cards, Mother's Day Cards, and Birthday Cards for justice-involved people.

What We Do

We provide books and audio recorders to those in custody, assisting them in selecting age-appropriate books for the children who mean the most to them. Each participant is given an opportunity to create a unique audio recording, reading the book and adding a personal message. On behalf of the person in custody, we then lovingly package and send the book and recording to the child.

Requirements

• Access to a reliable form of transportation to transport boxes of books
• Access to personal computer, internet, and printer
• Ability to lift a few boxes of books weighing roughly 25 lb each
• An eye for detail
• Highly organized
• A passion for making a difference in the lives of families separated by incarceration

Your Role

Picking up our inventory books from us in La Grange
Entering ISBN from each book into our web based inventory system
Entering/editing data from publicly accessible databases into the inventory system
Printing and preparing inventory labels, affixing them to each book
Dropping off the entered books back to us in La Grange
Meeting with us occasionally for supplies

Get Involved

If you're interested in being a part of this meaningful project and you meet the above requirements, we'd love to hear from you. Please contact us, and we'll direct you to complete our online volunteer application. (We are unable to assist with obtaining or maintaining a United States visa, including an F-1/OPT visa. We are also unable to offer community service hours verification for court, school, or scholarship purposes.)

Watch Our Video

To learn more about our work, watch our video (back when we were using cassette tapes!).
Aunt Mary's Storybook Project on Good Morning America