Looking to do some last minute gift shopping? I have some ideas for you.
A couple of weeks ago I saw this article about a perfect combination: being crafty and helping people. Right after that, I saw a friend's plea for support for a Kickstarter project called Bloodsworth: An Innocent Man. This will be a movie about Kirk Bloodsworth, the first death row inmate exonerated by DNA evidence. If you are interested in the creation of Kickstarter and what it does, you can read about it here and here. (While the Bloodsworth support drive is over, I bet you could find other projects there relating to what I am about to say.)
Then it hit me: combine holiday gifts and criminal justice reform, with a little craftiness/creativity thrown in!
Disclaimer: Some of my suggestions involve a lighthearted approach to issues that truly keep me up at night. In other words, while I am being funny, I am also being serious. If that makes sense. I am not trying to offend people. It's just like we say at work: sometimes you gotta laugh to keep from crying.
I got my friend Jake (I sure hope he isn't reading this before next week) a pocket Constitution printed on 100% recycled paper by presses powered by renewable energy at the BuyOlympia website. At the same website, I got other cards to give as presents/gift tags, including one about the Bill of Rights (at this time, I will resist making editorial comments about current affairs and their impact on said document, which celebrated its 220th birthday yesterday). And one could send these cards using Kansas stamps!
Speaking of the Bill of Rights, do you have a person on your list who is freaked out (or should be) by the direction we are moving in this country with respect to fundamental constitutional rights? How about the mug below and a donation to the ACLU or another organization that works to protect the rights of all?
How about this unlikely pairing: the wine pictured below with a donation made on behalf of your gift recipient to the Innocence Project? As its website says, IP is a "national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice." According to IP's website, "eyewitness misidentification is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions nationwide, playing a role in more than 75% of convictions overturned through DNA testing." I blogged about this topic here and here. (For a more serious approach, ditch the wine idea and give your recipient a book about and/or written by an exoneree.)
Do you or someone on your list like to support organizations that stand for limited government, free markets, individual liberties, etc.? How about a donation to Right On Crime? A project of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Right On Crime makes "The Conservative Case for Reform: Fighting Crime, Prioritizing Victims and Protecting Taxpayers". Signatories to the ROC Statement of Principles include former Gov. Jeb Bush, Newt Gingrich and William Bennett. The website has lots of information about how to best use corrections dollars, using evidence-based practices in supervising offenders, etc. Maybe pair this gift with a Don't Mess With Texas shirt? I don't know . . . I bet you could think of something clever. (And see below for possible packaging idea.)
Do you have a runner on your list? How about something like a hat or key holder or race bib belt and a donation to Running Free, the women's running group at Topeka Correctional Facility? (If you live in the Topeka/Lawrence/KC areas, you can find cool running gear at one of the five Gary Gribble's Running Sports stores.)
Which reminds me . . . speaking of shopping locally, that is another way to link gift giving and criminal justice reform. According to Independent We Stand, a movement of independently-owned local businesses, "if every family in the Lawrence [Kansas] metro area spent just $100 of their holiday budget at locally-owned, independent businesses, over $2,994,856* would be directly returned to the Lawrence community. That means better schools, better roads, more support for police, fire and rescue departments and stronger local economies." The * comment explains "[w]hen you spend $100 at an independent business, $68 returns to the local economy versus $43 when spent with a national chain." So, if you do buy something to accompany one of these donation ideas, please consider a locally-owned, independent business. Your community would have more resources to put toward local criminal justice reform, as I discussed here.
Do you or a loved one on your list oppose the death penalty? How about a contribution to the Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty? (Or your state's equivalent, which you can look up on the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty's website.) You could pair it with a relevant movie, book or other publication. (Example: a nice edition of To Kill A Mockingbird.)
While I haven't thought of creative accompaniments to them, here are some other ideas.
Need a family gift? How about a donation to Families Against Mandatory Minimums? In December, FAMM has its annual matching gift drive so your gift would double in size.
Looking for something to help kids? How about donating to the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, a national campaign working to end the practice of sentencing youth to life without parole. I wrote about their work here.
This is just a sampling of ideas. There are many excellent local, state and national (and international, for that matter) organizations working on criminal justice reform issues. There are books, magazines, movies, etc. that relate to the same.
One last idea. I stole this one from my friend at Artsyville: homemade "whatever holders"! My friend used brochures and embroidery floss and made them to fit gift cards. As I am both lazy and a giant nerd, I made them quickly with my sewing machine from a Pew Center on the States report on overincarceration, a Drug Policy Alliance brochure, fabric and a map - and big enough to hold a card announcing whatever the donation is.
Well, I need to get back to my own list. As you can see from the photos below, I am in the middle of many projects I have one week to complete. This room will go back to being mainly an office in less than a month, when the legislative session begins. But I am going to try not to think about that for now. Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa and Happy New Year!
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