**PAROLE PREP COMMUNITY FUNDRAISER**

If you know me (Laurel) you may already know that I am an enthusiastic volunteer with the Parole Preparation Project (Parole Prep), an organization that advocates for the release of people serving life sentences in New York State prisons. I have been a volunteer since 2016 and have worked with three people serving indeterminate life sentences, one of whom came home only last month. (Welcome home, Adrian!) 

This month (May, 2025) Parole Prep is launching its first-ever peer-to-peer (in this case, Laurel-to-you) fundraising campaign to help cover the costs associated with its volunteer program. To ensure that the program is accessible to everyone, Parole Prep covers all expenses related to travel (for example flying to Attica for a visit), communication (calls and Jpay messages), printing (transcripts for review, packets for submission to the Parole Board), postage and more. With nearly 100 current and active cases, Parole Prep spends almost $100,000 every year on volunteer activities alone. The campaign’s goal is to raise the bulk of that, $75,000. I am hoping to raise $2000 for my beloved Parole Prep.

Volunteering with Parole Prep has been among the most meaningful aspects of my life over the past nine years. For me, someone with no personal experience of the criminal legal system or prisons, becoming a Parole Prep volunteer has expanded my world, re-radicalized me and helped me feel less alone. Volunteering with and/or donating to Parole Prep doesn’t only help individuals as they apply for parole release, it also cultivates a spirit of mutual care and responsibility across the boundary of the prison wall. This secondary, diffuse benefit is a powerful antidote to what we are currently experiencing, and accrues to us all.

On that note, I know things feel especially uncertain right now but if you have even a few spare dollars I hope you will think about donating to Parole Prep. Please also consider sharing this fundraiser with others (peer-to-peer-to-peer) and talking about Parole Prep with your people. Of course please reach out to me with any questions and thank youuuuuuuu!!

Laurel