Books for Incarcerated Youth In Georgia

Imaan’s Donation Project

The Power of a Good Book

Books have always held a special place in my heart and soul. I loved reading since I was a little kid. My mom would beg me to go to sleep because I had school the next day but, I would stay awake reading until 12. I would be up on the weekends at eight o clock just to finish my books from the library and get some more. I was forever anticipating the next chapter, the next book in the series, or the new series that everyone was obsessing over. I was enjoying the moment, laughing at a funny story, imagining myself in the adventure, or internally freaking out over a scary plot. However, as I got older, books became more than just enjoyment, it was a place for me to get lost in. I experienced bullying throughout my teen years and reading would take me into another world. Reading helped me calm down, and most importantly, it allowed me to ignore all the negativity around me. I also realized how much the books had been indirectly teaching me important life lessons. That’s why I’ve decided to donate books to help incarcerated youth. My name is Imaan Khalil and I am donating books to incarcerated youth in Georgia as a donation project and encourage you to help me reach my goal of 50 books of which I’ve donated 15.

You might be wondering why anyone would want to donate books to people in prison. Well, I believe just like these books were a safe space for me to release my emotions as a kid, it could be a place to release bottled-up feelings for these incarcerated youth. Children aren’t born with an instinct to steal or do bad things. Usually, people go through a traumatic experience, are surrounded by bad company, or are overcome with strong emotions caused by an incident in their life to go down the wrong path. These incarcerated youth need help. They need love and care and someone to show them right from wrong. Unfortunately, they are usually not helped in the right way and end up in a worse state than before. I can imagine many of them feeling isolated, hating the world, and feeling lost. Many of the books I read while growing up helped me escape feelings like that as they helped me get lost in a fictional world. Reading could also become a source of finding redemption for them. I also want these kids to relate to different characters’ personalities, gain insight into important matters by recognizing themes in the books. I also read books that show how vital relationships with family and friends are, good vs. evil, and different characters going through different experiences to connect with. Being exposed to and reading various books will help them develop a sense of acceptance and loving others, raise their self-esteem, and realize their self-worth. They need this education in order to get out there and become a better person. That is why I also recommend books that are eye-opening and help see the world in a different view, through several characters’ eyes. Books like Holes, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Hatchet shows various kids and their struggles which they can resonate with. Here is a full list of books I recommend to donate:

1. We Hunt the Flame
2. We Free the Stars
3. The Giver
4. Holes
5. To Kill a Mockingbird
6. The Secret Life of Bees
7. The Kite Runner
8. A Thousand Splendid Suns
9. And the Mountains Echoed
10. The Cabinet of Wonders
11. Alex Rider (series)
12. The Maze Runner (series)
13. Harry Potter (series)
14. The Hunger Games (series)
15. A Series of Unfortunate Events (series)
16. The Mortal Instruments (series)
17. The Chronicles of Narnia (series)
18. The Hobbit and Lord of the Ring (series)
19. Gallagher Girls (series)
20. Hatchet (series)
21. The Heroes of Olympus (series)
22. The Kane Chronicles (series)
23. Divergent (series)
24. Vampirates (series)
25. Percy Jackson (series)

Where to Donate?

I researched many different places that donated books to prisons. Some places donate to all prisons; adults, and youth, some have restrictions, and some donate exact books that prisoners request. A lot of the organizations are nonprofit and volunteer-based, so they need all the support they can receive! As many options there are, I mailed in some books to The Georgia Department of Corrections directly. You can donate books to them as well here. Make sure to check out the guidelines provided because it is very necessary that they receive proper books that will benefit the youth. Then you can mail the books directly to them with the address provided on the website. Here is a picture of some books I donated!

Some of the books I donated are mentioned above and some aren’t. However, they still are all books that I have read, enjoyed, and learned from. Any book that I read was an important part of my education from learning new vocabulary to learning about right vs wrong, and I want these books to do the same for these youth. I want them to use these books as a safe way and source of learning and self-discovery by getting happily lost in the small world of The Hobbit or learning important lessons about racism and family in The Secret Life of Bees and To Kill a Mockingbird. 

Still thinking…?

If what’s holding you back from donating or helping incarcerated youth is the thought that they don’t deserve these books, then think about this. I’m sure we’ve all had a rebel moment or thought in our lives. Some of us might have even gotten away with something wrong. But, a lot of prisoners are ethnic minorities and don’t have that privilege. When you are young, you end up making a lot of mistakes, and most of the time the youth just need a guiding light and a helping hand. Imagine being in their shoes; overwhelmed with the feeling of guilt, loneliness, anger, and sadness. We can’t imagine what might be going through their minds making them go down the wrong path let alone being punished for it. These books might just be the answer to help them understand, want to do better, and feel less lonely.

Here is a list of five articles that can help further explain the importance of educating incarcerated youth through books. 

• https://kulturehub.com/liberation-library-incarcerated-youth/
• https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/04/this-is-what-happened-when-a-us-judge-sentenced-teenage-vandals-to-read-books/
• https://jjie.org/2020/09/02/incarcerated-youth-need-books-to-combat-their-increased-isolation/
• https://www.literacyforincarceratedteens.org/who-we-are/
• https://kidsimprisoned.news21.com/

Donate with the intention of making a difference! 

Evan Griffis’ Donation Project

Books for Incarcerated Youth in Georgia

The reason I wanted to participate in this project is because as a young child I loved to read. When I was younger I would read instead of play video games, watch television, or just about anything else. I know that not all children are being provided with the same opportunities I was and may not have developed the love of reading. I consider myself a pretty well-rounded person, and I think a lot of that is due to my love for reading as a child. That is why I have chosen this project. I want to be able to give other kids the same opportunity I was given to be able to grow their brain by reading.

My goal for this project was to get at least 20 books donated.  However, due to the help of family members, I was already able to donate 34 gently used books in addition to the three I donated.  

When I initially began researching for this project, I found substantial research showing the difference that books and literacy make in the life of not only all youth, but specifically incarcerated youth.  I then researched to find recommended books for teens and young adults that were also on an accessible reading level for a wide range of readers.  I then began to look for organizations that organized collection of reading material for  incarcerated youth in Georgia.  Since I was not able to find such an organization, I contacted the Department of Juvenile Justice who put in contact with a DJJ facility near my location.  I spoke with a representative at a local DJJ about the need for books at facilities with incarcerated youth.  

I personally chose to donate the following books:

• Two Diary of a Wimpy Kid books ~ I know these books are very silly, but they got me excited to read as a young kid and I feel like it would be the same with other children.
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ~  I always wanted to try to read these when I got a little older in order to challenge myself, and this is one of my favorite Harry Potter books.  I feel like a young reader could “get lost” in this book. 

To the people who want to participate in this project, DO IT! This project was really fun to do, and it feels great knowing that you are helping young students get resources to read. If you would like to participate in this project, I would recommend that you think about books that you have enjoyed and consider donating them.  I have been asked that we refrain from sending books with any sexual content, drug use, or violence.  So please keep that in mind as you are considering possible donations. 

If you would like to donate directly , please send your donation to:

Please mail book donations to:
Director of Library Services 
Attn: Medeana Hinson 
Upshaw, 2^nd Floor 
300 Patrol Road 
Forsyth, GA 31029

For more information about donating, including types of books accepted, books to avoid and where you can personally deliver donations, please visit the this site, http://www.dcor.state.ga.us/content/library 

If you are having a hard time thinking of books to donate, I have made a list of possible donations that I feel would be great choices.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul by Jack Canfield

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Looking for Alaska by John Green

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Paper Towns by John Green

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

All the Walls of Belfast by Sarah Carlson

American Street by Ibi Zoboi

Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez

Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Every Day by David Levithan

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

The Beauty That Remains by Ashley Woodfolk

The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

If you are still unsure about donating books for the Books for Incarcerated Youth in Georgia project, please read some of the benefits at the following links.

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED594436.pdf

https://jjie.org/2016/07/18/reading-difficulty-in-young-children-linked-to-later-trouble-with-the-law/

https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/jj.delinq.read.probs.htm

https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles/lit.pdf

https://www.nap.edu/read/9972/chapter/5#17

Thank you so much for considering donating in an effort to help our incarcerated youth develop of a love of reading that could help turn their lives around!