Dear Friends and Supporters,
As we look back on the past year at Big House Books, we are filled with gratitude for the compassion and dedication of our community. Your support has allowed us to continue our simple but powerful mission: sending free books to incarcerated people across Mississippi. Every book we mail is a reminder that knowledge, connection, and hope can reach beyond walls. This year, more than ever, you helped make that possible.
Thanks to you, we sent over 20,000 books in the last twelve months, a 25% increase from last year. In total, more than 6,000 incarcerated Mississippians received books chosen specifically for their interests and needs. This growth reflects not just expanding requests from inside correctional facilities, but also the incredible response from volunteers and donors who believe in the transformative power of reading.
We also celebrated our most successful fundraising year to date, with hopes to reach our $50,000 goal before December 31st. We are deeply grateful for the generosity of Volunteer Mississippi, the LGBTQ Fund of Mississippi, and the Hull Family Foundation for helping us stretch our dollars further with grant funds. We have seen a rise in individual donations as well, specifically from those who utilize matching donations through their employer and donor-advised funds. We thank you for helping us stretch these crucial dollars in service of our mission.
We want to thank the church and civic groups, companies, and school groups who funded private book packing parties this year. Thanks to the generosity of these groups, we were able to mail out more books in a timely manner and satisfy our growing postage needs each week.
Our work was honored in new ways as well. Big House Books board member, Larry Morrisey, was accepted into a fundraising training course through the Community Foundation for Mississippi, supporting our long-term sustainability. We were invited to speak to the North Jackson Rotary Club in May, opening the door for new partnerships and broader awareness of our mission. We’ve also maintained strong partnerships with several correctional facilities who reach out to us periodically for bulk book donations to their facility libraries. We want to acknowledge the educators, chaplains, and other leaders inside these facilities who support our mission and who have contributed to our growth.
In the coming year, our goals are simple but ambitious:
– Sustain our current growth with reliable, year-round funding
– Continue increasing the number of books we send to correctional facilities
– Maintain a steady stock of high-demand titles so we can fulfill requests without delay
Reaching these goals will require continued support from people who believe in literacy, dignity, and second chances. If you are able, we invite you to make a year-end gift to help keep our shelves full and our mailing days strong. Every contribution makes a direct, tangible impact on someone seeking comfort, learning, or escape through reading.
Thank you for standing with us, believing in this mission, and helping send hope one book at a time. We can’t wait to see what we accomplish together in the year ahead.
With gratitude,
Big House Books
You are the reason we are able to continue our mission year after year. You change lives every week, and we are so grateful to have you on our team!
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A nonprofit organization sending books to inmates in Mississippi correctional facilities. 
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