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Volunteering | Donations in Kind | Doing
Business with SPC Partners
Giving Cash | Donate
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Form
I.
You can help by volunteering
The
function of most of our volunteers is to present the insights
gained from Buddhist-derived meditation inside prisons, or via
written correspondence with prisoners. The Shambhala Prison Community
maintains high standards of qualification for this work, to ensure
the accuracy of the transmission of those insights and the genuineness
of the human contact. We ask that our volunteers be authorized
in writing by their own meditation lineage to teach meditation
to others. Answering general correspondence on behalf of the
SPC carries the same pre-requisite.
At the same time, the SPC invites trainees of all
levels of qualification to participate in the work. All are encouraged
to inquire.
Correcting
papers returned by prisoners participating in the SPC correspondence
course is work for which university graduate students in Buddhist
studies with a strong meditation practice are invited to help.
The
charter of the SPC is educational and includes all kinds of humanitarian
educational work in the prison community. This work extends beyond
the central spine of egolessness and altruistic discipline into
the nervous system of the culture, so to speak. Qualified
and interested volunteers who can teach writing, art, and other
educational forms are very welcome to consult with us on how
to initiate that work in your local area.
The
good news and the bad news is that there are prisons everywhere.
It almost doesn’t matter where you live—you are within
driving distance of a prison, which may need volunteers. The
SPC conducts regional trainings for those interested.
II. You can help
by making donations in kind
The
SPC distributes thousands of books and magazines annually. If
you have good Dharma books or magazines to donate, please let
us know by email (prison@indra.com)
what materials you have and how you would like to convey them
to us. The SPC will acknowledge the donation with a receipt for
tax purposes.
III. You can help by doing business
with our community partners and sponsors
We are grateful for the initiative of Suter
Dubose of the Colonial Mortgage Company in Boulder, Colorado.
Any business
client of Colonial who is an SPC referral "earns" a
donation to the SPC from Colonial, with comparable donations
being made by participating Boulder real estate agents whose
clients identify themselves as affiliated with the Shambhala
Prison Community. Entrepreneurs who would like to support
the SPC are invited to participate in similar partnerships.
IV. You can give a monetary donation.
Everyone, of whatever size bank account, is welcome
to join in this feast of donation. You
can give a monetary donation, online (via
Paypal), or by printing the
donation form, and sending
it to us by mail.
A
. Donations of $10,000 or more to the Shambhala Prison Community
endowment fund. The SPC is seeking to build a
capital base, to relieve the constant pressure on the need
for operating expenses, and to see the organization into
the future. We are considering purchasing property near prison
complexes to host our visiting volunteers overnight, to house
college interns, and to create a small meditation facility
for the use of the local communities, which often include
relatives of prisoners, as well as resident correctional
personnel. Appreciated property or stock, which has tax advantages
for the donor, are welcome, as are inclusion in trusts and
bequests. If our attorney can help with making or structuring
such arrangements, please let us know.
B.
Specified donations for projects, such
as the newsletter ($5000 annually), or the travels of SPC
volunteers
to Arizona
($4000
annually) and other states, or book purchases ($3000 annually),
would be welcome. Owing to excellent relationships with prison
authorities in some states and regions, the SPC has auspicious
circumstances to present meditation in many states, as well
as overseas.
For
many years, the Nalanda Individual Assistance Trust, through
the generosity of Peter Goldfarb, launched and maintained the
funding of the SPC book and tape donations to prisoners and
prison libraries. To continue this worthy work, for $3000 a sponsor
could fund one year’s supply of books, which brings the
Dharma in written form to literally thousands of prison inmates,
like
a transfusion through prison walls.
C.
Ongoing monthly donations of
$10 or more are especially helpful. This may be done through
credit card or direct bank withdrawal, or via online Paypal
account subscription.
D. A donation of
$108 is acknowledged with a copy of
the beautiful book edited by Margot Neuman, Confusion
Is The Ground of Wisdom, chronicling prisoners' Dharma correspondence.
E.
Many small donations will
also help us flourish. Annual membership in
the SPC is $36.
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