Inmates Raise $30,000 for Struggling Student they Met in Book Club [Video]

• A book club involving students and inmates surprisingly formed lasting friendships between the two groups.
• The program inspired the inmates to raise a scholarship fund for a student in need.
• Thanks to the scholarship, a struggling student was able to graduate high school and attend college.

Students and inmates formed an unlikely but wonderful friendship through an equally unlikely channel: book club.

The reading group was created by Palma School in partnership with the Correctional Training Facility (CTF) at California’s Soledad State Prison to bring high school students and inmates together.

The program benefited both groups — they learned from each other, had deep discussions, and even formed lasting friendships. It even inspired the inmates to help a struggling student out!

Jim Michelleti, an English and Theology teacher who created the book club, shared, “They said, ‘We value you guys coming in. We’d like to do something for your school…can you find us a student on campus who needs some money to attend Palma?”

One such student, Sy Green, had trouble paying his monthly tuition after his parents had medical emergencies.

So, the inmates set up a scholarship fund and were able to raise over $30,000 from inside the prison. Thanks to their efforts, Sy was able to graduate and attend college.

A former inmate and program leader, Jason Bryant, shared, “Regardless of the poor choices that people make, most people want to take part in something good. Guys were eager to do it.”

Jason acknowledged his past and shared his plans to contribute to the community.

“I’m never far from the reality that I committed a crime in 1999 that devastated a family — several families -— and irreparably harmed my community,” he explained. “I keep that close to my heart, and I would hope that people can identify the power of forgiveness and the probability of restoration when people put belief in each other.”

Raising $30,00 from inside prison is no small feat. Inmates’ minimum wage can go as low as 8 cents per hour.

One of the inmates, Reggie, even donated an entire month’s paycheck of $100. He told CNN that he simply wanted to “pay it forward and give it to someone else for a change”.

Sy’s father, Frank Green, said that learning about the inmates’ scholarship “brought me to tears.”

Now, Sy and his family regularly visit the inmates, with whom they have built wonderful friendships.

Jason shared, “I don’t feel like myself or my team or the guys who contributed to this incredible gift for Sy are special.”

“We’re just people who want to do good things. If more people just decided to do good things, this world would be a better palace,” he added.

Source: Tank’s Good News