3rd Annual Naughty or Nice Party!
A benefit for Boxcar Books and The Midwest Pages to Prisoners Project
Friday, December 18th
At The Bluebird
Doors at 9:30pm. $5 per person
DJs, Photobooth, Dancing, Burlesque!
21+

You've been good all year, now it's time to get hot and sweaty at Boxcar's 3rd Annual Naughty or Nice Benefit! Fulfill your fantasies with Dirty Santa and Mrs. Claus at the $1 photobooth. Head to the Island of Misfit Toys with a sexy syndicate of DJs that will be providing the soundtrack to the night of your life! And a special performance by the Bloomington Burlesque Brigade will make you get everything you've ever wanted and more, all on Friday, December 18th at the Bluebird as a benefit for Boxcar Books and The Midwest Pages to Prisoners Project!

• DJ Dumptruck Molly
• DJ Dreamboat
• DJ Mason
• DJ Amy Karr
• DJ Amber Hansen
• Performances by Velvet Cherry, Lolita Tart, Violet Phoenix & Tessa von Twinkle of the Bloomington Burlesque Brigade!
• Dirty Santa and Mrs. Claus Photobooth as shot by Sara Baldwin-$1 per session!
• Naughty or Nice Kissing Booth- choose your poison-$1 per smooch!
  

• View the flyer for this event
• Naught or Nice Party on Facebook

In concert with the American Library Association Banned Books Week (http://www.ala.org/bbooks), The Midwest Pages to Prisoners Project is having a Pack-a-Thon on October 1st from 12 noon until at least 12 midnight. Come by our office--118 S. Rogers Street, Suite #2--at any time during the event and stay for an hour or for several. For more information call us toll free at 1.866.598.1543. Thanks for your help in advance!

It's the end of the semester, and if you have a lot of unused print quota in the computing labs, please consider printing some things for Pages to Prisoners.

Things to print:

• Form Letter - The form where you record the inmate information and books and then write a personal response.  This is the printed material that Pages runs out of the most. Be sure to print double sided.

On February, 26, the New York Times published an essay about an alternative sentencing program in Massachussets that allows some sentenced offenders to avoid going to jail by participating in a book group.

Some of the essay's insight about the role of reading for prisoners reminds me of why Pages to Prisoners is so important.

Reading has always provided a lifeline for prisoners, whether for utilitarian purposes or for spiritual searching. (In 2006, when Beard v. Banks upheld a prison’s right to deny inmates access to printed matter, religious and legal texts were among those excepted.) A broader literary tradition stretching from medieval English dream visions to Solzhenitsyn’s novels situates the most intense and uninterrupted reading in prison. (Waxler points out that “cell” can refer to the space in which monks write as easily as to a room in jail.) Traditionally, books have offered virtual escape from physical confinement. In alternative sentencing programs, though, books provide a more literal alternative to incarceration; and the authorities’ job is not to censor books, but to supply them.

...

There’s nothing surprising about the idea that certain books teach lessons, whether the Bible or “The Last Lecture.” Here, though, the medium becomes the message: the act of reading changes — or, as we used to say, converts — the reader, even when the texts being read contain no explicit moral injunctions."

Read the full article.

Save the date for Bloomington's best party and Pages' biggest fundraiser of the year, the Rock N' Roll Prom!  This year, it will be on April, 18.

A lot of help is needed both the night of the prom and getting ready for it.  Here is a rundown of some of the things that need volunteer help:

prom help! these things will be on the sign-up bulletin board at boxcar soon.

decorating committee!
sign up at the bookstore soon to help plan, shop for, and create decorations during some upcoming decoration making nights at the bookstore.  we need a lot of input during these nights--please come once they're set, or come in on off times to add/contribute!

decorating-day of
also, sign up for decorating the day of prom, and for clean-up the day after prom.  large attendance at both of these is necessary!

party favor research!
research cheapest possible prices for customized writing on pens and pencils, cheap pocket protectors, cheapo nerd glasses, and other nerd related items.

timekeeper!
we need a responsible, not drunk, prompt person to keep everything on schedule during the prom. you should know most people in bands, mc's, dj's rollergirls, etc--just so you know who to yell at to be on stage or ready at a certain time.

publicity!
we need people to help flyer when the time comes- poster/flyer deadline march 18th.

pages facebook and myspace postings!
need someone with access to publicize through pages digital thingys.

photobooth sign-up! 11pm-2am
$1 per person, per session
11-11:30 _________________
11:30-12 _________________
12-12:30 _________________
12:30- 1 _________________
1- 1:30  _________________
1:30- 2  _________________

photobooth flyers!
need someone to make 1/6 sheet flyers to pass out at the photobooth, explaining to the drunk people where they can view their photobooth pictures online after the prom.

bakdoor attendants!
we're thinking of having some backdoor attendance because of all the people who snuck in previous years. i'm emailing dave from the bluebird to see what he things/ if he might be able to put a bluebird staff person on the back door, and/or if it would be worth using wristbands for people that have paid.  but we might have a sign-up for backdoor-cop watching in the future.

let me know if you have any questions or concerns or if i'm overlooking things!

thank you!

-seven

If you can help with any of these, please e-mall steven [at] boxcarbooks [dot] org.

Unless you are

• decisive but also a good listener!
• committed to social justice!
• someone who likes working with people!
• someone who can juggle lots of different projects and pieces of information!

Are you already underpaid in a managerial position?   Then we have a managerial position where you'll be severely underpaid (actually, not paid at all), but make a huge difference in the life of incarcerated people.  The Midwest Pages to Prisoners Project is seeking a new general coordinator and you could help steer this grassroots community project.  While the project is all volunteer run and attempts to share responsibility and decision making throughout the volunteer base, a general coordinator is still needed to act as a nexus for information, ideas, and logistics around all the volunteer efforts.

The general coordinator does things like:

• Schedule planning meetings
• Identify and troubleshoot problems with the project
• Responds to media inquiries
• Answers e-mail directed to the project
• Meet and develop collaborations with other community groups
• Delegate other volunteers to take on pending tasks
• Act as a point person for Indiana University students taking part in service-learning coursework
• Act as the go-between between Pages and its partner organization, Boxcar Books
• Stay abreast of the progress of filling letters, sending packages, returns, and other aspects of the project.
• Write grants

If you like challenges like these and like doing things you may have never done before, you might be the right person for this very important volunteer role.  The ideal candidate will have some experience working with nonprofits, grassroots community organizations, or social justice movements.  Familiarity with issues surrounding the prison industrial complex is preferred and formerly incarcerated people or those with family or other loved-ones who have been incarcerated are strongly encouraged to apply.

Someone is needed to fill the position in June 2009, but training should start ASAP.  This position requires a 4-10 hour a week time commitment and the ability to check and respond to e-mail on a frequent basis.  A minimum 1-year commitment is needed for this position.

If you are interested, please e-mail mwpp [at] pagestoprisoners.org