The Storybook Project of Arkansas is a simple idea with a big impact. By recording inmates reading a book to the children in their lives, we give incarcerated parents an opportunity to be a parent and a positive role model for their children. With a book and CD which they can play over and over, children are able to hear their loved one’s voice and to know that they are loved and missed. Chaplains in the Arkansas Department of Corrections support our program because reconnecting inmates with their lives outside the prison helps to restore relationships and increases the chance of success after release. We currently operate in Grimes, McPherson, Hawkins men, Hawkins women, Wrightsville men and the Pulaski County Jail.
About
Mission
For 20 years, our mission has been to keep families connected during incarceration through the joy of reading. We bring children’s books into the prisons in Newport and Wrightsville and the Pulaski County Jail four times a year and record parents reading a book and giving a message to their children at no cost to the families. The Storybook Project of Arkansas helps to bridge a connection between the two through reading, enhancing familial success, inmate morale, and literacy levels.