The Red Deer Advocate talks about our ChIRP program at Bowden Institution.
Click here to read about it.
It was a pleasure to witness our dedicated volunteers at Warkworth Institution being spotlighted in an engaging interview by Watershed Magazine. Be sure to explore the insightful article featuring the remarkable contributions of Erin O’Sullivan and Judy Kaufman.
Let’s Talk
The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) has beautifully chronicled the success of our ChIRP program on their "Let's Talk" website. " Through these tales, readers are offered an immersive insight into the manner in which CSC diligently upholds its commitment to enhancing public safety and supporting rehabilitation. The collaborative efforts of organizations like Book Clubs for Inmates and ChiRP play a pivotal role in this transformative journey.
The article is available for your reading pleasure here.
In a captivating piece, Toronto Star journalist James Grainger, a Special Contributor to the Star, penned a remarkable article delving into the Bath Institution book club's extraordinary rendezvous with the celebrated author Heather O'Neill, renowned for her work, 'Lullabies for Little Criminals.”
Books Behind Bars by Leslie Sinclair, This Magazine
A CBC article discusses how book clubs benefit inmates in Ontario women's prisons.
Tom Best is featured in the Bath Book Club for Inmates newsletter
Port Moody high school student aims to give inmates life skills through literacy.
CBC News British Columbia
Book Clubs for Inmates is showcased in a recent article of The Shield Journal.
Click here to read about it.
Correctional Service Canada / Service correctionnel Canada believes that book clubs can both inspire and transform people.
Carol Finlay Receives An Honorary Degree from St. Thomas University
We are delighted to announce that Carol Finlay, our founder, received an honorary degree from St. Thomas University in New Brunswick, on July 5. St Thomas University has a strong social justice reputation. She was recognized for founding BCFI and bringing life and hope through literature to the incarcerated, one of the most marginalized populations in Canada. In her Commencement Address she spoke about pursuing a life of meaning through volunteering in the community.
Click here to read Carol's full address.
BCFI Founder Carol Finlay Receives Meritorious Service Medal 06/07/18
The board of directors of Book Clubs for Inmates is delighted to announce that Founder, Carol Finlay, received a Meritorious Service Medal (blue medal in photograph) on Friday July 6, 2018.
PHOTO CREDIT: SGT JOHANIE MAHEU, RIDEAU HALL © OSGG, 2018.
Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada presented the Meritorious Service Medal (Civil Division) to Carol Finlay, O.Ont., M.S.M. at the ceremony at the Citadelle of Québec.
As Carol says, “ I accepted this award on behalf of all the wonderful volunteers and financial supporters of BCFI, without whom none of the work of BCFI would be possible."
BCFI joins National Associations Active in Criminal Justice (NAACJ)
03/09/2018
We at BCFI are very pleased to announce that we have been recently become members of NAACJ (National Associations Active in Criminal Justice). The goal of NAACJ is to enhance the capacity of its member organizations to contribute to a just, fair, equitable and effective justice system.
BCFI joins 19 other member organizations who are national in scope and who represent a diversity of groups engaged in the field of criminal justice. This diversity covers a variety of areas, including non violent conflict resolution, transitional housing, law, research, advocacy, policy , training, literacy, counselling and restorative justice. Membership offers us the opportunity to engage with other community based justice related organizations, Correctional Service of Canada and Public Safety in a more co ordinated and effective manner.
For more information on NAACJ please go to their website at www.naacj.org
Colin campbell, author of Free Days with George,
and george visit bath book club
BOOK DRIVE FOR BEAVER CREEK
10/31/2016
BCFI is thrilled to thank Thomas Heintzman OC, a retired litigation lawyer, who collected nearly 4,000 books from neighbours, colleagues, and friends during a month-long book drive for Beaver Creek Institution's library. Tom sent out over 200 emails asking for donations of the books requested by inmates, and also collected dictionaries, reference books, text books, cook books, and more. Today, Thomas loaded the books into a moving truck and drove them up to the library. Many thanks to everyone who donated books! Thank you, Tom!
Michael Hurley
BCFI volunteer, Michael Hurley, presented two poems, “Down Inside” and “22-Year-Old Feet”, for Robert Clark on Friday, May 10th. Download the poems here
Journal of Prisoners on Prisons
Dialogue on Canada's Federal Penitentiary System and the Need for Change
Northumberland resident Carol Finlay named to the Order of Ontario
Northumberland News
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The darkness inside Canada's prisons
CBC Sunday Edition
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Carol wins CSC's highest volunteer honour
The Kingston Whig-Standard
Authors step up for inmates in need with book auction
The Toronto Star
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For Indigenous women, prisons are the adult version of residential schools
The Globe and Mail
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The Book Club at the Big House
Kate Taylor of The Globe and Mail
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How Carol Finlay is freeing the minds of prisoners
Chatelaine
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Books Behind Bars
The Kingston Whig-Standard
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Prison reading club has inmates ignoring TV, flocking to Steinbeck
The Toronto Star
BCFI annual report 2017
24/10/18
2017 marks Book Clubs for Inmates’ tenth anniversary of transforming lives through the power of books.
