An easy and inexpensive way to help!

Postage is our biggest expense, along with ink, paper, and envelopes.

Please consider donating a book of stamps by mailing them in*, or by clicking on the donation button at the top of the sidebar on the right. A book of 20 stamps costs $9.80 – or some of the specialty stamps shown below come in sheets of 16 for $7.84 – either way, 49¢ per stamp.

He poured his soul into stories, articles, and poems, and entrusted them to the machine. He folded them just so, put the proper stamps inside the long envelope along with the manuscript, sealed the envelope, put more stamps outside, and dropped it into the mail-box. It traveled across the continent, and after a certain lapse of time the postman returned him the manuscript in another long envelope, on the outside of which were the stamps he had enclosed. — Martin Eden by Jack London

I love the rebelliousness of snail mail, and I love anything that can arrive with a postage stamp. There’s something about that person’s breath and hands on the letter. — Diane Lane

Stamps are a critical commodity for prisoners. They are often the main form of tender, and are traded for everything from laundry service, to soups, from handmade artwork, to books. My brother recently traded three stamps for a $12 book. That’s how valuable a stamp is in prison.

There are few facilities that actually allow prisoners to receive stamps in the mail – most must purchase them from commissary or canteen (at a cost increase); and indigent inmates who qualify are generally only allowed a limited number of postage-paid outgoing envelopes per week.

We burn through a LOT of stamps every week, by both responding to letters from prisoners, and also sending stamps to those who are allowed to receive them. These letters serve many purposes, including encouraging literacy, stimulating creativity, and providing comfort. Nothing is more desired from a prisoner than to hear his or her name at mail call.

A piece of mail carries with it validation from the outside, tangible confirmation that he or she has not been forgotten. That letter becomes even more welcome when the stamp is visually eye-catching, and reminiscent of something pleasurable – like music.

Be an Angel, Donate Some Stamps!

*Mail stamps to:

Stamp Campaign
Adopt an Inmate
PO Box 1543
Veneta, OR 97487