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Now, we're giving this week’s A Plus Award to a student who collected a different donation: paperbacks for prisoners.
Jacob Hervey is a senior at Perry High School in Massillon. He started his own non-profit Books Behind Bars after researching education in prisons for a class project.
He learned that when inmates read while in jail, it makes them less likely to commit a crime again. Plus, many jails have very small libraries filled with old and worn books.
Jacob collected donations of books from friends and family, and even purchased some books himself. He ended up donating around 350 books to the Stark County Jail.
Jacob wants to continue his program every year. He said “Hopefully we can expand to include more local jails… so we can get as many books out there as possible.” He also said his sister Madeline will keep collecting books when he goes off to college.
Jacob, we’re proud to award you this week’s A Plus for encouraging folks behind bars to read and expand their knowledge. Great work!