Books Through Bars

05/25/2026

We need cookbooks! Email [email protected] to coordinate a donation! Check out www.booksthroughbars.org/donate-books for updated information about the kinds of books we need.

05/23/2026

Thanks so much to for volunteering with us today! If you would like to bring a group to volunteer, reach out via our website!

05/11/2026

We need dictionaries! They are one of our most requested books, soft-cover strongly preferred. Email us at [email protected] to set up a drop-off!

05/09/2026

Thanks so much to for volunteering with us a couple weeks ago!

05/06/2026

Join us on Memorial Day for a packathon! We’re starting the day with a new volunteer orientation from 11-1 (signup at booksthroughbars.org/volunteer) followed by a potluck style lunch at 1! Bring a friend and a dish for a day full of picking and packing books! Volunteers are free to drop in at any time throughout the day.

05/04/2026

05/01/2026

Join Books Through Bars & Hearts On A Wire on Wednesday, May 5th from 6:30-8:30 for Literary Liberation!
This is an educational event for anyone interested in low-risk advocacy for people who are incarcerated. We’ll chat about our work and then dive into volunteering tasks! Snacks & masks will be provided.

04/30/2026

A few of our volunteers showed up for the block party last week to table as part of Mumia Week 2026. None of us are free until all of us are free!

04/23/2026

We asked our volunteers, what brings you to this work? I’d like to introduce more discussions about mass incarceration to the indie newsroom I created, and would like to be more educated myself.
- BTB volunteer

04/22/2026

Thanks so much to the Penn Alumni Club of Philadelphia for coming to volunteer with us last weekend!

If you are interested in bringing a group to volunteer with us, reach out via the contact form on our website!