Elizabeth Chevez Silva’s Donation Project

When asked what donation project I would want to be a part of, I immediately picked books for incarcerated youth. As a young girl, I loved getting lost in books when I was sad because it made me happy, and often taught me lessons along the way. As I got older, I stopped reading as much, but it’s always had a soft spot in my heart. Not only did I grow up loving books, but a couple years ago, a family member was sent to a youth detention center. I’ve kept in contact with him through emails, and he’s mentioned to me how much he enjoys reading now that he’s there. He has expressed that he finds it fun to follow the storylines of different characters. I felt a special connection to this project and that’s why I decided to join it. 

My ultimate goal with this project is to gather 25 books to donate, and I personally hope to donate 3, if possible, more than that. Even if I don’t reach the 25 book goal I’ve set, I’d be happy with informing other people of ways to send books for the youth in detention centers. Maybe one day, they’ll decide to donate themselves or spread the word and get other people to donate one day. 

After doing some research, I realized that a lot of the places that are involved with donating books to inmates, donate to our youth, adults, and even to women’s shelters. To me this further shows that books help heal people and that’s why there are so many non-profit organizations wanting to help people who are incarcerated regardless of race, gender, age, or offense. I also found that a good way to donate books in your state, or at least in Georgia, is to go to your state’s department of corrections. 

Many organizations have requirements for you to donate like: only allowing paperback books, they have to be brand new, or they have a specific list of books that they accept. I decided to go to donate books to the Georgia Department of Corrections. They actually accept paperback and hardcover books as well as gently used books, but they do not accept spiral bound books, books in poor condition, or books containing nudity or violent scenes. That being said I found a couple books that I wanted to donate, some from my personal at home library and others that were thrifted. I decided to donate a mix of fiction and self help books, the titles include: If I Stay, Love The One You’re With, The Stolen Marriage, At The Edge of The Orchard, 9 Lessons for Living Longer, The Amazing Results of Positive Thinking, and Thrive: Finding Happiness The Blue Zones Way. I chose these books because I felt that they would interest people of different age groups, and encompassed a wide variety of characters, storylines, and helpful tips.

If you’re still not sure whether you would like to donate or not, I say just go for it. Most of the time it won’t cost you much. You can donate books from your home that have just been sitting on your shelf collecting dust, or you could go to a thrift store and find books in great conditions for just a couple dollars. It might not seem like much to us to receive a book, but many kids, teens, and adults that are in correctional facilities yearn to have new books to read. Books can be a way for them to escape to a fantasy world, become more literate, and even help them prepare for the day they’re released. Donating books is an easy way for many people to help their community, so if you’re able to please help our youth that are in correctional facilities. If you would like to donate but don’t know what titles to send, here’s a list of 25 books that are popular for teens:

  1. Harry Potter (series)
  2. The Hunger Games (series)
  3. To Kill a Mockingbird
  4. The Fault in Our Stars
  5. The Hobbit
  6. The Catcher in the Rye 
  7. The Lord of the Rings (series)
  8. Looking for Alaska
  9. The Book Thief 
  10. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (series) 
  11. The Outsiders
  12. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
  13. The Princess Bride
  14. Divergent (series)
  15. Paper Towns
  16. The Mortal Instruments (series)
  17. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
  18. The Infernal Devices (series)
  19. Tuck Everlasting 
  20. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 
  21. Howl’s Moving Castle
  22. Stargirl
  23. The Hate U Give
  24. Lord of the Flies
  25. A Wrinkle in Time 

Here’s the link to the page that I used in case if you decide to donate, the Georgia Department of Corrections: http://www.dcor.state.ga.us/content/library

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March 12, 2021 Uncategorized No Comments on Elizabeth Chevez Silva’s Donation Project