About Us: Our Mission
Spring Grass Book’Em exists to support many of the 2 million human beings behind bars in the United States with free educational books (including legal books & quality nonfiction).
We know that some inmates are innocent & that others are often sorry for their crime and want to avoid re-offending. In order to succeed, they often need educational help completing their GED high school diploma, learning trade skills or acquiring books to study on other subjects. We have faith that books can transform their lives as well as the lives of their families, & that will affect our whole society! Help us to help them.
Book'em is a 100% volunteer-run organization that sends quality reading material to prisoners on request as funds allow. Books-to-prisoners programs are extremely important and necessary because 1) many prisoners are indigent and can’t buy books, OR — due to prison restrictions — their friends and relatives are not allowed to send books directly. Book'em bypasses this restriction by working with The Big Idea, a local independent bookstore, which has permission to send books to prisoners.
2) Our service is especially important to the many prisoners in solitary or lockdown or on death row, as they may not ever be allowed to go to the library (if there is one) and there may be no book cart coming around at all or it may have mostly junk or books missing pages. Reading and study are crucial to these people's sanity and to their staying out of trouble if they are released. Many examples prove that books can transform a life!
In the 12 years that we have been operating, Book'Em/Spring Grass Book’em have sent over 55,000 packages into more than 900 prisons all over the United States, with each package costing us an average of $3 to mail at media rate. And some inmates request educational materials so that they can tutor others. Prisoners are extremely grateful for this program. They write to us saying what books or subject areas they prefer, then we send them donated books related to that subject (or similar) at weekly packing sessions where we also read’em, pick’em, and database’em while we snack and socialize. It’s fun and fulfilling for us too! A great place to make a contribution.
We know that some inmates are innocent & that others are often sorry for their crime and want to avoid re-offending. In order to succeed, they often need educational help completing their GED high school diploma, learning trade skills or acquiring books to study on other subjects. We have faith that books can transform their lives as well as the lives of their families, & that will affect our whole society! Help us to help them.
Book'em is a 100% volunteer-run organization that sends quality reading material to prisoners on request as funds allow. Books-to-prisoners programs are extremely important and necessary because 1) many prisoners are indigent and can’t buy books, OR — due to prison restrictions — their friends and relatives are not allowed to send books directly. Book'em bypasses this restriction by working with The Big Idea, a local independent bookstore, which has permission to send books to prisoners.
2) Our service is especially important to the many prisoners in solitary or lockdown or on death row, as they may not ever be allowed to go to the library (if there is one) and there may be no book cart coming around at all or it may have mostly junk or books missing pages. Reading and study are crucial to these people's sanity and to their staying out of trouble if they are released. Many examples prove that books can transform a life!
In the 12 years that we have been operating, Book'Em/Spring Grass Book’em have sent over 55,000 packages into more than 900 prisons all over the United States, with each package costing us an average of $3 to mail at media rate. And some inmates request educational materials so that they can tutor others. Prisoners are extremely grateful for this program. They write to us saying what books or subject areas they prefer, then we send them donated books related to that subject (or similar) at weekly packing sessions where we also read’em, pick’em, and database’em while we snack and socialize. It’s fun and fulfilling for us too! A great place to make a contribution.