Lincoln Journal Star
LINCOLN, Neb. — Nearly 200 prison inmates have donated more than $2,000 to the American Red Cross for relief in Haiti.
After several inmates asked whether they could give money to Haiti, the administration set up a system to collect donations, said Dawn-Renee Smith, public information officer for the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services.
Inmates aren’t allowed to send money to anyone except family, but department leaders decided to allow an exception for Haitian relief and posted a memo letting inmates know how they could donate, Smith said.
A check for $2,015.31 recently was sent to the Red Cross, she said.
Corrections Director Bob Houston said he was impressed by the inmates’ generosity.
He said many people don’t know that inmates send money home for support and pay for their own amenities in prison.
“And (they) are now giving to our Haitian neighbors,” he said.
Donations ranged from 10 cents to $150. Inmates are paid $1.21 to $3.78 a day for jobs within the prison system.
About 15 percent of the approximately 4,500 inmates work in higher-paying prison industry jobs, according to a news release.
The department has allowed donation drives two other times in the past decade - after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Smith said.
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