Storybook Project is Now Welcoming Volunteers – We’re Up and Running and we need you!
After our long pause caused by the Covid 19 pandemic, we’re now up and running – and in need of new volunteers. We will be working in the Monroe County Jail, located in downtown Rochester NY. We will be operating each Monday morning from 9am to 11am. Volunteers must be 18 years of age or older and will be required to wear masks during their visit to the jail. Typically, volunteers visit our project once each month. Those interested in volunteering with us should contact our coordinator, Britt Hopkin at (585) 309-6345 or on email at Rochesterstorybookproject@gmail.com for further information and application forms.
About the Rochester Storybook Project
The Rochester Storybook Project is now working in the Monroe County Jail located at 130 South Plymouth Ave. in downtown Rochester, New York, and has been in operation since 2016 (with a long pause due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Our project fosters a bond between incarcerated parents and their children by making recordings of their parents reading stories, and then sending the recordings and the storybooks to their children at home. Each child can then read along in their book while listening to his or her parent’s voice. In so doing, this program benefits both the child and the parent. Children get to hear their mother’s or father’s voice talking directly to them. This helps to ease the pain of separation during their parent’s incarceration, and as an extra benefit, children are more likely to develop an interest in reading in the process. For the incarcerated parent, the program offers comfort in making a loving connection with their children and family during this time of separation.