Help incarcerated people in Kane County read to their children

Save to Favorites

The Aunt Mary's Storybook project brings into several Illinois county jails and state prisons a selection of brand new books, along with audio recorders. We assist participating justice-involved parents and grandparents in choosing an age-appropriate books for each one of the children most important to them. The participants are then given an opportunity to record him or herself reading the books for the children, along with a personal message. On behalf of the justice-involved person, we then send the books and recording to the child.

We are seeking a total of 3 volunteers to serve on a monthly basis on the First Saturday afternoon (2:00 - 5:00 PM) of each month.

In this volunteer role, the volunteer would be going to the facility with a group of other volunteers. Volunteers will be working directly with detainees one on one to choose an age-appropriate book for each of their children, and then audio record them as they read the book. We provide all of the supplies and equipment, as well as training, for this volunteer role.

Please note that this volunteer role requires a reliable form of transportation as well as a one (1) year commitment to volunteer. In addition, should an individual be offered a volunteer role, the offer is conditional on the successful completion of a background check performed by the Kane County Sheriff's Office. However, formerly incarcerated people may be eligible to volunteer depending on how much time has passed since the conviction and/or release; however, this is entirely dependent on the Sheriff's Office.

Please contact us if you are interested. We will then direct you to fill out the volunteer application on our website, www.cjtinc.org/volunteer.