Meet Pria, September 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 used to work for a nonprofit called Freedom Reads back when I lived in New Jersey. They worked building these handcrafted, beautiful modular libraries and installing them into prisons and jails across the country. Something about working there just felt so right. I fell fully in love with the work of getting books to readers on the inside. I can only change so much about this world and all it's systems of oppression so it can feel overwhelming to try to make the world a better place. Sending someone a book to read is such a small thing but I saw firsthand how all these small things can add up to a remarkable impact. So when I moved up here to Seattle I was so happy to find out the Books to Prisoners project was here for me to volunteer with so I could keep contributing to that cause.
Is there anything you especially like about volunteering with us? What are your favorite parts of the process?
I like wrapping the best! Every time I sit down to wrap up some books with the brown paper I hear Julie Andrews singing in my head: Brown paper packages tied up with string / these are a few of my favorite things It's a silly little thing but it's sorta delightful to me
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?
One of the most memorable letters I opened was the one guy who sent multiple letters at once requesting books about chickens/ featuring images of chickens/ about cockfighting in general. I think of this guy often and I remain so profoundly devastated that we had no chicken based materials to send him at that time. I checked everywhere - the calendars, the coloring books, the National Geographics - not a single tome on our shelves written that even remotely talking about chickens! I hope he writes in again soon because a few weeks after his letter I did find a free, downloadable pdf on raising chickens for cockfighting that I would be so happy to send his way.
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 think my views haven't changed that much per say. One notable shift in my thinking though is that, in light of the current political state of things, when I'm sending in books to whichever facility I have often found myself thinking, "Oh good, well when I get incarcerated at least they'll have this book in there waiting for me!"
Do you have any book recommendations for us? Is there anything you especially like to read in your spare time?
Half Built Garden by Ruthana Emrys!! I can not recommend this book enough. It's very difficult to keep hold of hope for the future with all that's going on in the world but hope is so important to cultivate actively and intentionally. Hope is resistance! Volunteering with BTP is a big part of my personal practice for maintaining hope. Reading thoughtful books like Half Built Garden is another.
Are there any other parting words that you’d like to share with whoever is reading this?
