Help prisoners write better!

Save to Favorites

Today, imprisonment and incarceration have become a fundamental component of popular culture. The voices of prisoners today are being commandeered by corporate media. National Geographic and MSNBC, among others, have decided that American prisons are fascinating. Even TV chef Gordon Ramsay recently released a new reality show in which he teaches prisoners how to cook. Incarcerated Voices provides prisoners an unfiltered voice that examines the reality of the American penal system.

Incarcerated Voices, an upcoming radio program, is an exploration into the circumstances and conditions of incarceration through the eyes, ears, and hearts of prisoners. We seek to foster insight into the prisoner's responses to broaden the general public's understanding of the prison population today. The intent is to give a voice to the voiceless.

The opportunity primarily will focus on prisoner contributions to the project. This once in a lifetime project provides an opportunity to read the thoughts and prospectives of this nation's incarcerated.

Volunteers in this role will be assessing and responding to letters from incarcerated people in federal and state prisons in the United States. You are not writing the letters directly; you submit your letter through an online system and our organization mails the letters on your behalf. This is not a pen-pal arrangement, however; you are simply there to write one letter of feedback for each letter you review, and there is no ongoing dialogue. We will provide three examples of these feedback letters should you proceed to volunteer with us. We will also provide ongoing feedback and support when necessary.

This opportunity does not require a presence in our offices. Volunteers must be able to work independently. We are particularly looking for volunteers who can commit 2 hours per day, 4 days per week.