Send prisoners some holiday cheer!

The Prisoner Correspondence Network is holding our fifth annual Holiday Card Drive, sending holiday cards to hundreds of people on the inside. Christmas can be a very dark time in prison, and receiving a holiday card can make a world of difference.

As a community, volunteer-run organisation, we rely on the support of ordinary people to get this important mahi done. We don’t have big donors, or government grants, but we do have the support of our incredible community.

We expect to send around 3000 cards to 800 prisoners this year, with our projected running costs for 2021 looking to be around $5000. Because we are sending cards to double the number of prisoners as last year, this means our postage and card-printing costs have also doubled. We will also be running more events around the country than ever before, and will be supporting their efforts with financial assistance for kai and venue hire.

Every dollar helps, so please help us to run this important project.

Every year we receive thank you messages from the recipients of our holiday cards, showing clearly how much of an impact the Holiday Card Drive has on incarcerated people who otherwise may not hear from anyone over Christmas. Here are some of the messages we received after last year’s drive:

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From Kurt:

I would like to send a massive thanks in regards to an envelope I got today with Christmas cards from the public and a nice letter from the PCN team. This was a nice surprise and super thoughtful and as being in prison at this time of year and not being at home with family it's nice to get cards and letters as I texting and calling for granted on the outside. It took for me to become incarcerated to realise how much we take things for granted and how a simple letter can mean so much and lighten up someone's day as this has for me =).

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From John:

Thank you for your thoughtful cards. They arrived on a bad day for me. Christmas is always depressing for me. I’ve seen 21 of them in here. I don’t suppose my family will send cards. They seem to have forgotten me at last. My ex-wife (remarried) likes to write. I had made up my mind to not write to her anymore but I wimped out. I miss my grandchildren (and great grandchildren). I’m 74. Two of my siblings have died. A sister is probably dying now of M.N.D. Your efforts to find me correspondents is much appreciated. Snail mail is my only link to the outside world now.

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From Joshy:

As Christmas is fast approaching I thought I would take this chance to wish everyone at the PCN a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

I have spent 17 months in custody so far and thanks to the pen pal network I have really come a long way in confidence, humility, as well as maintaining positive thinking and finding happiness in negative spaces.

Christmas is such a hard time to be in prison. Even more so when I am innocent of the crimes I’m accused of. Thank you for helping the men in prison who don't have any family support networks.

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From Ben:

It’s Ben here. I would just like to thank everyone who sent me a card for Christmas.

For years my cell has been bland, dull and depressing. Until today. I received some cards that brightened my cell and life up. So thanks to all who sent me an xmas card, Etta, Holly, Henri, Bronwen and John and one with no name (tui on). Thank you all for being a light in a very dark tunnel. It’s nice to know someone still cares. I hope all your dreams and wishes come true next year. Best wishes and happy xmas and new year.

Ben

P.S Thanks to PCN for making me feel human again! Xxxooo

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From Shane:

I would personally like to thank each and every one of you for what you do for every inmate that you help. Without people such as yourselves many of us would really struggle to make connections with people again. The ability that you have to help with making those connections enables many of us to then receive perspectives from such a wide variety of people. Many of whom some of us might just walk past in the street and never bat an eyelid at. It helps knowing that when we develop those friendships through writing, that the person receiving the letters is not judging us for what we have done. They are actually wanting to help us. Helping us to trust in people again.

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You’re also welcome to write cards to prisoners. If you would like to send cards, please post them to PCN / PO Box 14329 / Kilbirnie / Wellington 6241. A list of names will be finalised in the next couple of weeks, or you are welcome to address them vaguely so they can be sent to anyone.

Covid restrictions permitting, we will be holding official letter-writing working bees in Auckland , Hamilton, Hutt City, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, as well as a number of community-led working bees all around the motu. These working bees will be an opportunity for us to come together and write holiday cards together. More details about the working bees will be out soon. We're also working on an online-submission option, in case we can't meet in person in some locations. However, if there isn’t a working bee in your area, please let us know if you’d like to organise one!

IMPORTANT NOTE: this year we are unable to accept cards that have been glued together as some prisons refuse to hand on cards that have things glued to them. So if you make homemade, by all means make something incredible and creative, but just don’t stick anything to them!

We’re inviting people to nominate their friends and whānau in New Zealand prisons to receive cards. If you know someone inside and you think they would appreciate some seasons greetings, please fill out this form and we will add them to our list of people to receive cards: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScUK3OierSCdXnhMGKTorsfeNXobU02rHBUotR__nDI7D_mmA/viewform?usp=sf_link

PCN is run and funded by People Against Prisons Aotearoa (PAPA). Funds raised for PCN will be held by PAPA and will only be used for PCN purposes.