Meet Kelly, October Volunteer of the Month

What got you interested in BTP to begin with, or what made you start volunteering? Does it tie in to the rest of your life in any meaningful way?

I started as way to fill hours for SNAP, but I quickly became glad I had picked BtP. It is clear the work we do impacts a lot of people in very positive way. I haven't done a ton of activism around my political beliefs, but this does fit in to an extent with my believe that our system is quiet unjust, and that emphasis should be on rehabilitation, not punishment. I'll surely continue volunteer work here regardless of future SNAP use.

Is there anything you especially like about volunteering with us? What are your favorite parts of the process?

I like picking books the most, especially when I can find just the right thing. But even when no great options are available I like making the most of what we do have. I just need to keep a check the time I spend, otherwise I might end up spending way too long one request.

Everybody starts off by responding to letters, even if they eventually move on to wrapping or other tasks. Some of the letters can be memorable. Are there any requests that surprised you, or that you remember standing out in any way?

I've answered a few requests that could have been mine if I ever went to prison, just amazing alignment of interests. In one case I had a near perfect computer book at home, so I set aside the letter and brought that book in as donation and sent it. In other areas... I've sent books to one death row inmate (at least, one that said so in their letter). It was notable for that, but I don't really know what to think about it.

In the time that you’ve been here, do you think that your views on the prison system, or what it’s like to be incarcerated, have changed? Please feel free to talk about those views if you would like.

I don't know that my views have changed really. It has reinforced for me that we have a really messed up system, with often inhumane conditions. I'm in my 40s, so I've learned a lot of this gradually... If I had volunteered in my early 20s say, I might have had a more abrupt realization.

Do you have any book recommendations for us? Is there anything you especially like to read in your spare time?

I have really gotten out of the habit of reading books sadly. I keep saying I need to change that, but it can be hard in the modern age of distractions. That said I have been gradually making my way through The History of Middle Earth series, Christopher Tolkien's publishing of his fathers unfinished works and notes beyond The Silmarillion. I am also a huge fan The Wheel of Time, anything by Brandon Sanderson, and Stephen Baxter's Xeelee Sequence. For some lighter (meaning books are more standalone so less intimidating to get into) sci-fi and fantasy, I stand by my early love of the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey and the Valdemar series by Mercedes Lackey. They are from the 70s and 80s mostly though, so not exactly modern on some things. I have some non-fiction favs, but not sure how far out of the loop they are now. Things like history and paleontology keep moving... I keep up with those mostly with online discussion and videos - the kinds of videos that have a full citation list and by either professionals or amateurs who are doing their best imitation of

pros, but who make it clear they aren't pros. Well, not a book, but it is reading, the blog "A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry" (ACOUP) by Dr. Bret Devereaux is great place to read about anything from the Carthaginian army, to how clothing was made, to the realism (or lack thereof) of armies/battles in pop culture franchises (LoTR, Dune, etc) or even how strategy video games like Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron, Crusader Kings, etc can teach us some things about history by looking at them with a scholarly lens.