As a lifelong volunteer, Batavia resident Jill Runke has donated her time to literacy centers, nursing homes and a domestic violence center.
For the last five years, Runke also has donated her time to helping incarcerated individuals maintain a connection to their family.
“To be truthful, I had never imagined myself volunteering in a jail,” Runke shared.
Volunteering for Aunt Mary’s Storybook Project, Runke records incarcerated individuals reading books or sections of books.
The books along with the recording are then mailed to the incarcerated individual’s children.
Each time she volunteers, Runke said, it “not only helps someone else, but also, at the same time, helps me feel better about myself.”
A firm believer in restorative justice, she said, “I believe in a God of second chances, and many of the incarcerated need another chance.”
Giving them the opportunity to connect with their children while in prison by reading and recording a story to their children is really quite an amazing experience for both the prisoner and the volunteer, Runke added.
“Society focuses on the victim of the crime, but we too often forget that the children are also victims of the situation. The prisoners are sending their children several important messages: I love you and think about you even if I can’t be with you, and reading is important. This is often the only way they may have of staying connected with their children.”
Aunt Mary’s Storybook Project is the brainchild of Jana Minor, one of three founders of Companions Journeying Together, a nonprofit formed in 1986.
Minor, who previously had worked in a prison ministry, said the storybook reading program began in 1993 as part of a Christmas project for the children of women incarcerated in Cook County jail in Chicago.
The program was so successful, the group decided to expand to other jails and correctional facilities in Illinois under the name of Minor’s Aunt Mary.
Aunt Mary was an elementary school teacher, Minor said.
“She spent her life teaching kids how to read,” she said.
The program has grown tremendously and now through Aunt Mary’s Storybook Project, volunteers visit 16 correction facilities — seven county jails and nine state prisons in Illinois — to record inmates reading books.
Similar programs have been created in other parts of the country.
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Minor still volunteers her time helping inmates read books, most recently at Kendall County Jail where she helped a father with four children — triplets and a newborn — make recordings for his children.
Minor said some of the favorite books that inmates choose are “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” and “Is Your Mama A Llama?”
“We also have inmates with older children read parts of chapter books. We always encourage them to send messages,” she said.
Aunt Mary’s Storybook Project receives books through drives of church groups and youth groups or from donations of gift cards.
In 2016 alone, Aunt Mary’s Storybook sent books to 2,473 children, according to Scott C. McWilliams, Companions Journeying Together executive director.
“It is a way for incarcerated individuals to maintain connections to the children and also promote literacy among populations that are disadvantaged or disenfranchised,” he added.
In addition to the storybook program, Companions Journeying Together also offers parenting classes, holiday communication projects, provision of re-entry materials and referrals, community education and training, and advocacy.
“We currently are in need of individuals to help mail out the recordings and books to the families of incarcerated individuals,” McWilliams said. “We also are in need of postage supplies and books.”
Cathy Janek is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News