Thousands of Texas prison inmates donate over $53K for Hurricane Harvey relief

The prisons put up a flier near the commissary store in each facility, said Jason Clark, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.  The fund was open for donations from Aug. 31 through Sept. 30, Clark said.

During that time, 6,600 inmates donated $53,863 which will be sent to the American Red Cross fund benefiting victims of Hurricane Harvey.The average donation was $8, but several offenders donated a couple hundred dollars or more, he said.

After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Texas prison system set up a similar fund, after many inmates asked how they could donate to help storm victims. Inmates raised well over $44,000 in a combined fund for Katrina and Rita relief, Clark said.

He said he wasn't surprised at the generosity of the people incarcerated in Texas facilities.

Read the entire article at the Chronicle link: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Texas-prison-inmates-raise-over-53K-for-12275585.php