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Monday 9am - 3pm Tuesday 9am - 3pm Wednesday 9am - 3pm Thursday 9am - 3pm Friday 9am - 3pm

College Guild

We provide free education to incarcerated persons throughout America. College Guild has grown immensely, now having served over 5,000 inmates nationwide.

College Guild was founded at a Maine kitchen table in the spring of 2001 by two people who had each been closely and intensively involved with prisoners and prison issues. College Guild has recently recieved attention from The Times Record, the Forecaster, and Senators Susan Collins and Angus King. Our mission is based on the premise that when prisoners are given the opportunity, and encouragemen

t to pursue on-going learning, it benefits both the prisoners and their various communities. The decrease in rates of recidivism for prisoners who have participated in educational and rehab programs is well documented. College Guild courses are designed to be both thought-provoking and fun, to encourage objectivity and creativity, with an opportunity to spend time constructively. College Guild’s non-accreditation status means that all prisoners, no matter their location or sentence are qualified to participate. What is the College Guild model? How are we organized? What are the key principles we follow to support our mission?

-We are free to prisoners, with the one exception that they pay for their outgoing stamps. Prisoner/students can work on the units anywhere and anytime - all they need is a pencil, paper and time, and sometimes this is all they have.
-We are non-accredited and our courses non-traditional - we value the freedom this allows us. Our volunteer teachers and readers strive for courses that are engaging, non-threatening, and thought provoking.
-We are professional. Although we are a volunteer-based organization, we strive to be professional in the quality of our courses, timely responses, and interpersonal boundaries.
-We are anonymous and secure. We recognize that individual prisoners may be dangerous and/or manipulative. By assuring anonymity, we protect our volunteers, protect the organization and the service it provides, and avoid the need and risks of assessing/judging individual prisoners.
-We insist on respect and appropriate boundaries between students and volunteers. For example, both students and volunteers are expected to be respectful and appropriate in their treatment of racial, sexual, religious, political and other personal issues
-We do not espouse any particular belief or ideology (religious, political, etc.) except dignity and respect.
-We are open to all prisoners regardless of sex, race, religion, prison, crime or sentence.
-We maintain a central office, and all correspondence between the student and College Guild goes through this office.
-The College Guild volunteer can contribute anything from a few hours a month, to full time. They do not need to have a particular expertise, and they can live anywhere in the USA. We are entirely funded by donations.

10/26/2024

www.collegeguild.org

08/30/2024

Prisoner Issues Affect the Economy.

As we move into the Labor Day weekend, College Guild continues to offer inmates real learning that leads to the acquisition of training and jobs after release. This supports families, reduces housing and food insecurity, and reduces recidivism. Our students speak about new motivation and confidence for learning, which leads many of them to build skills, and acquire certification before and after release-

“Without an adequate education, prison inmates returning to society do not have the skills necessary for meaningful employment. This leaves them stuck in a lower economic level and vulnerable to returning to prison.” Jeffrey

To learn more about how our prisons and jails leads to economic injustice, from the Prison Policy Institute, click the link to their article, 10 Ways That Mass Incarceration Is an Engine of Economic Injustice:

The fight for a fair economy and the movement against prisons are one and the same.

05/11/2024

As I get ready to retire... this is my final appeal for College Guild. A tiny and amazing organization doing work across the country.

Click the link to access our first ever Annual Report. It's a peak behind the doors of the board and our work providing free correspondence education to people in prison in all 50 states.

https://www.collegeguild.org/

02/14/2024

Research shows that 70 to 100 million Americans have a criminal record, around one in three working-age adults. Sixty percent of them are unemployed a year after leaving prison. This group is underutilized and bypassed for the millions of jobs that remain open across all industries, but the winds are shifting.

Business opportunity and ethical concerns are lining up to change hiring practices and policies to give those with criminal records a second chance.

02/01/2024

"Just from my own perspective -- and I would think probably yours -- if you know that upwards of 90 percent of people are going to be released one day, right? Would you want this person that’s going to be your neighbor, would you want them to have been in prison, left without air conditioning, didn’t have food, where they were mistreated, disrespected and abused -- would you want that person to be your neighbor? Or would you want the prisoner to be your neighbor who received education, humane treatment, rehabilitation? I would prefer that second person because I think they would be less likely to break into my house and rob my house once they’re released. And I think as a society we need to start looking at that. ..We are doing people a disservice by trying to mistreat them while they’re incarcerated. Being incarcerated, being taken away from your family, not being home for the holidays, not seeing your children grow up, having these moments that are taking place in all the lives of people that you love and care about but you can’t be there? That’s the punishment."
Denise Rock, executive director of the advocacy group Florida Cares Charity Corp.

Denise Rock is the executive director of the advocacy group Florida Cares Charity Corp.

01/22/2024

Check out this amazing infographic by Calla! She's a highschool student who took the time to support College Guild with her skills!

11/30/2023

After dorms were shuttered and prison beds taken offline, Gov. Ron DeSantis, in September 2022, activated the Florida National Guard to work at prisons. Three-hundred National Guard members continue to work at the facilities.

https://zurl.co/BhS9

It says more than $2.2 billion is needed to fix issues such as leaking roofs and adding air conditioning to existing prisons.

11/29/2023

The best course of action is clear.
Share this image to support incarcerated education!
Visit https://zurl.co/V7cc to support change in the treatment of incarcerated men and women.

11/21/2023

BIG NEWS! PLEASE SHARE!

We need your help to make sure we can secure these funds!

We just received an incredibly generous matching gift from Steph Garber!

Steph has promised that if we can raise $7500 at tonight's Virtual Breakfast, she will give us another $2500!!!

So please join us and help College Guild meet our goal!

You can access the event from collegeguild.org at 7 pm EST Tonight!

Link to the event: https://www.collegeguild.org/

See you then!

College Guild provides free correspondence courses that connect incarcerated people with a community beyond prison walls, fostering mutual respect through a shared passion for learning. free courses prisoners volunteer prisoners incarceration education prison education prison correspondence courses

11/13/2023

Owing to the events in Lewiston, College Guild was forced to cancel our Bridge Builder’s Breakfast Fundraiser. We have decided to hold a “Virtual Breakfast” as a replacement. The event will feature most of the same programming, including live speakers and a message from Representative Justin J. Pearson.

WHEN:
November 21st
7 pm EST

WHERE:
Collegeguild.org

Thank you for being understanding. We love our College Guild Family, and we hope to see you there.

10/26/2023

Friends of College Guild,

Out of respect for our friends and family in Lewiston, we are canceling our breakfast, which was scheduled for Friday, October 27th. We will be inviting you to a virtual version of the event later in November. We have some wonderful speakers that we are looking forward to sharing with you.

Sincerely,

College Guild Board, Staff, and Volunteers

10/25/2023

Are you hungry? We're hungry. Let's come together to break bread and change lives!
October 27, 2023, 8:00-9:00 am EST
675 Old Portland Road
Brunswick, ME
We Will Be Asking For A Donation At The Event
RSVP at https://zurl.co/njhq

Address

Brunswick, ME
04011

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 3pm
Tuesday	9am - 3pm
Wednesday	9am - 3pm
Thursday	9am - 3pm
Friday	9am - 3pm

Telephone

+12077290043

Website

http://www.collegeguild.org/

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