Many members of my family have found themselves incarcerated at one point or another in their lives. Honestly, most of my family has either served time in a penitentiary or, at the very least, spent a night in jail. Because my brother, my son, my uncles, and an aunt have all been counted among America's incarcerated, I've never bought into the "lock 'em up and throw away the key" mentality. Those people behind bars, sporting orange jumpsuits are my people, bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. I've flirted over the years with creating various workshops and projects for those imprisoned. None of my previous efforts had seen the light of day until now.
Now 10% of On The Ground Floor's events ticket sales will be allocated toward our new Arts & Literacy Initiative. A portion of the proceeds from our next exhibition will help stack the library collection at Pitchess Detention Center. Commonly known as Wayside, this facility is operated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. There is no library building for inmates, instead one book cart passes from dorm to dorm serving over 5,000 men. Yes, one cart for reading and that's all folks.
A ticket to Electric Walls is just one way to get a good book to an inmate at Pitchess. You can also send a paperback (no hardcovers) through your local bookstore or a big box retailer like Barnes & Noble. US Postal mail deliveries only. Nothing sexually explicit (not my policy). And the officer in charge tells me the guys really dig those James Patterson thrillers.
Send Your Donation (directly from bookstores only) to:
Book Donation c/o Officer Barger | North County Correctional Facility | 29340 The Old Road | Castaic, CA 91384
or
Grab a ticket to Electric Walls and we'll do it for you!