by Stephen Baratta

This year we will be doing something different for our Adopt-a-Family program at Christmas. Steve Baratta and Nanson Serrianne (thanks to Nanson for taking this project on alone for so many years) will be working in conjunction with Will Aitcheson and Diane Collins from the Social Action Committee, and the theme will be a “holiday outreach program”. We will be collecting supplies to put into packages for inmates who have no relatives or friends on the outside. The prison we will be focusing on is the NYS Washington County Correctional Facility.

This is no small undertaking, because of the rules and regulations from NYS Dept. of Corrections and each individual facility. The 4 of us (and anyone who wants to help) will be putting collected items into individual packages and they will be brought to the prison. Any items you buy have to be in the original package as sold by the manufacturer. You can buy different types of items if you want but each one must remain in the original packaging. Once again anything donated on the list must be new and in original manufacturers packaging.

Look for the Christmas tree in the foyer and we will keep an inventory of what we get and update what’s needed so we can try to get everything covered for some packages and hopefully get some books into the library prison. Thanks also to Nanson and Diane and the Social Action committee which has decided that one area of focus this year will be restorative justice (prison reform work). Happy holidays to all.