Remembering BTP's History During National Volunteer Week

4 days ago
2 min read

Six female-presenting volunteers from the University of Washington at Books to Prisoners and some are holding books

Established in 1974, National Volunteer Week occurs during the third week of April and is a week-long recognition of the impact of volunteer service in our communities and the power of volunteers to transform the world. This year, we celebrate National Volunteer Week from April 19-25, 2026.

Four people fulfilling orders in a room packed full of books, boxes, and mailing supplies

Books to Prisoners (BTP), was created in 1973 as a project of Left Bank Books, an independent bookstore located in the historic Pike Place Market. Volunteers are the core of BTP. BTP literally cannot exist without volunteers. For a very long time, BTP existed only through volunteer efforts, and it wasn’t until 2014 that BTP hired its first paid staff member to serve as a part-time program coordinator.

For the past 53 years, BTP volunteers have sent books to people in prison. What started out as a small group of volunteers answering letters is now a seasoned nonprofit organization with hundreds of volunteers and one part-time program coordinator that receives more than 1,000 requests for books each month. In 2025 alone, nearly 6983 hours of volunteer time was completed and 14,678 packages of books were mailed to readers behind bars. That is a lot of books mailed, a lot of books read, and a lot of learning gained.

Three people seated at tables fulfilling orders in a room packed full of books, magazines, and mailing supplies

BTP’s original volunteers could not have known when they first started answering letters from people in prison in the 1970s how much their efforts were going to grow and be sustained over more than five decades. They could not have known that their work would go on to inspire hundreds of volunteers for years to come. They could not have known that BTP would become one of the largest and oldest prison book projects in the U.S.

This National Volunteer Week, Books to Prisoners would like to thank the original volunteers that started BTP, all our past volunteers, and all our current volunteers. We could not do this important work without you.

You are making a difference in someone’s life with every letter you answer and every book you mail.

We are honored to be in community with all of you.

Three young people fulfilling orders in a room packed full of books, boxes, and mailing supplies

Join us! Visit our volunteering page to learn how to get involved with Books to Prisoners.

Curious about what motivates people to volunteer with BTP? Read our featured volunteers posts to learn about the amazing individuals that donate their time to BTP.

Don’t have time to volunteer but still want to help? Visit our donate books and donate money and merch pages to learn how you can help us in other crucial ways.

Authored by Peg Cheng