I’d like to highlight just one of the amazing organizations The White Collar Club Handbook supports monthly with book donations, as well as sharing a common vision toward educating the incarcerated;  The Appalachian Prison Book Project.  

Here is the history and their mission from their website (appalachianprisonbookproject.org):

APBP grew out of a 2004 graduate course on the history and literature of imprisonment taught by English Professor Katy Ryan at West Virginia University (WVU). For the next two years, a group of students, faculty, and community members collected books, raised money, and studied the history of prison book projects. In 2006, APBP moved into the Aull Center and mailed its first book.

In 2012, APBP became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

In 2014, APBP held an Educational Justice & Appalachian Prisons Symposium. Funded by a West Virginia Humanities Council grant and cosponsored by the WVU English Department, the three-day event brought together more than 200 scholars, public officials, prison employees, students, lawyers, artists, leaders of higher education in prison programs, and community members. Keynote speakers were Dwayne Betts, Kyes Stevens, and Rebecca Ginsberg.

As a result of connections made at the symposium, APBP launched its first book club in the fall of 2014 at the women’s prison at Hazelton Correctional Center. Two years later, APBP began a second book club in the men’s medium-security prison at Hazelton. A third book club took place at the Hazelton Prison Camp in fall of 2019. These year-round book clubs developed into dynamic reading and writing communities.

The most recent turn in APBP’s educational work has been to provide tuition for incarcerated students in WVU’s credit-bearing Inside-Out courses. The first class took place in the fall of 2019 at SCI-Fayette in Pennsylvania, and the second one took place in spring of 2020 at SCI-Greene in Pennsylvania.

While facilitating prison book clubs and establishing credit-bearing classes behind bars, APBP has continued sending free books to people in prison. As of 2020, we have mailed over 45,000 books to incarcerated people across Appalachia.

By mailing books, creating prison book clubs, and providing tuition support for incarcerated people taking college classes, APBP celebrates creative expression and defends the liberties that make it possible; champions the freedom to read and write, recognizes the power of literature to transform individuals and societies; and supports educational, vocational, and personal development for people who are locked up.

If you would like to get involved with supporting this amazing organization you can donate books to them via their wish lists ( Amazon Wish List or  Pinocchio’s Books and Toys ).  They also accept monetary donations (checks) sent to their address:

Appalachian Prison Book Project
PO Box 601
Morgantown, WV 26507

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”  –  Nelson Mandela