Inmates donate to charities through sales of crafts: Stride

KITCHENER — Late last month, two community agencies were presented with $500 donation cheques, something that many would argue is not unusual in a community like ours.

What made these cheque presentations somewhat different, though, is that they took place at Grand Valley Institution,

the federal prison in south Kitchener that houses about 200 women.

Even more unusually, the cheques were presented to the agencies by some of the women incarcerated there.

The donations are the fruit of the women’s work creating greeting cards, which are then sold in downtown Kitchener. The events are a big deal, said Julie Thompson, director of programs at Community Justice Initiatives, which runs the crafts program. The women dress up, the gym at the prison is decked out and there’s entertainment.

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