Inmate Support Volunteer delivers more than 2,000 books a month
Volunteer Ken Mullen (with his wife, Pat) has given more than 10,000 hours to the Inmate Supportive Services program.
Volunteer Service Awards
Ken Mullen laughs when he recalls his wife, Pat Mullen, asking if he would volunteer “just a few hours a week” with the program she works for, Inmate Supportive Services. It turned out to be few more hours than that. In his 10 years volunteering to deliver books to inmates, Ken has given more than 10,000 volunteer hours to the program and was recently recognized at the highest Gold Level of the President’s Volunteer Service Awards. But he clearly says that he does not do it for the recognition and explains: “I do it for Catholic Charities and to help out the officers and the inmates. It’s kind of like Christmas for the inmates when I deliver a book – and that gives me a great deal of satisfaction.” Each week, he follows a busy routine: On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, he does data entry on the computer to keep track of the books – non-fiction and fiction on all subjects – that are purchased by inmates’ family members. On Fridays and Saturdays, he delivers the books to the inmates at the Santa Clara County Jail in downtown San Jose. On Sundays and Mondays, he delivers books to the inmates at Elwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas. He spends five hours a day each time he goes to the facilities and delivers between 2,000 and 2,500 books a month. Since he started volunteering, he has delivered more than 100,000 books. The book delivery is a part of the assistance offered through Inmate Supportive Services which provides eye glasses, notary services, probation required legal documents, requests for family contacts, family requests for information or items for the inmates, information from community/other legal services and resource information. The staff members, including Program Manager Kent Wanke, have regular schedules at the jail sites to respond to inmate and Corrections Officers requests.
For more information, please visit ccscc.org/inmate-support-services-for-adults