PAROLE PREP COMMUNITY FUNDRAISER!

Support our volunteers and help bring people home from prison!

I was first introduced to Parole Prep in 2017, as I was helping a long-time friend to prepare for an upcoming parole hearing. At that point my friend had been incarcerated for over 40 years and was going to the board for the eight time, having been denied parole at each of his previous hearings despite his incredible record of accomplishments on the inside.  

He was matched with a team of two volunteers from Parole Prep, who worked with him and his extended support network of friends and family, including me. The work together was transformative. The Parole Prep team helped us all to better understand the process, and to be more prepared for the hearing and the possibility of my friend's release. 

At the same time, Parole Prep was part of a statewide coalition working alongside groups such as Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) to expand the use of parole in New York State. This coalition, which is still active, is led by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, and has the ultimate goal of ending mass incarceration and promoting racial justice.

We were elated when the work on parole reform coalesced with the individual/community preparation to create the conditions for Herman's success at his eighth hearing. He returned home in Spring 2018. Every day since then has felt like a gift. 

Since that time, I’ve continued to volunteer with Parole Prep in both formal and informal ways, and I’m deeply impressed by their framework, approach and dedication.

This May, Parole Prep is launching our first-ever peer-to-peer fundraising campaign to help fund our volunteer programming and parole preparation work. To help us reach our fundraising goal of $75,000, members of the Parole Prep community will work as lead fundraisers to solicit donations from their own networks. Here’s more about what we’re fundraising for:

Since our founding in 2013, Parole Prep has trained over 900 volunteers to work alongside more than 400 people serving life sentences in New York State prisons. Most of those inside have spent more than 25 years behind bars and are in their 60s, 70s and even 80s. Many are in declining health and are eager to return to the families and communities that they left decades ago.

Over the course of their time with Parole Prep, volunteers will visit people in prison, talk with them by phone, communicate with family members and loved ones on the outside, and support people in navigating the parole process. Volunteers will also create advocacy packets that are submitted to the Board of Parole that demonstrate the work individuals have done while incarcerated and why they should be granted release. Volunteers also work with people to prepare for their parole interview, which is a daunting and difficult task.

Throughout the year, our volunteers are traveling from New York City to prisons as far away as the Canadian border. They are spending their weekends driving long hours or traveling by plane, bus or train, sleeping in hotels and motels, and of course, spending time with people in prison. When incarcerated people are nearing their parole dates, volunteers print copious amounts of documents, assemble them into bound booklets, and submit them to the Parole Board for review. 

To ensure that our volunteer program is accessible to everyone, and that there is no financial burden on people in prison, Parole Prep covers all expenses related to travel, communication, printing, postage and more. With nearly 100 current and active cases, Parole Prep spends nearly $100,000 every year on volunteer activities alone. 

We hope you’ll join us in raising funds for these important operations. With your support, we can better advocate for the release of more people serving decades in prison in New York State.