Thanks and Giving

November 29, 2019

Written by Dina

Another holiday season is upon us, with many things to be thankful for and to celebrate!

Minutes Before Six has been able to present to you fifty-two new essays and countless new poems and works of art over the course of the past year. The posts on Minutes Before Six are the result of many hours of work volunteered by our administrative team. We are so grateful to each of our volunteers for all you do for our project and for the people Minutes Before Six represents. We thank you and we love you. None of this would be possible without your gifts of time and energy.

We are able to share this writing and art because our many contributors – prisoners from all over the United States – submit their work at their own expense to provide insight into their lives and surroundings. Our contributors have our admiration and respect for facing low points in their lives by picking themselves up and finding positive ways to contribute to the world. It is an honor for Minutes Before Six to be a creative outlet for these prisoners and to cheer them on as they reflect and grow. The healthier and stronger our contributors become, the healthier and stronger we are as a society.

We thank our Board of Directors for being the force that serves to guide and advise Minutes Before Six. We owe the goals we have set and reached to these dedicated wise ones and are grateful for their astuteness and experience.

Big hugs to our donors! Our project operates 100% on volunteer power and donations and your gifts allow the wheels to turn at Minutes Before Six. We are grateful for your generosity and consider you part of our team also.

A special thanks from Dina to “a citizen” for your generosity and thoughtful dialogue: I have enjoyed getting to know you and greatly appreciate your open, flexible mind and expertise. I look forward to continuing our discussion!

And readers, thank you for coming every week to view the results of the combined efforts of our project as detailed above. Your presence drives all of us to continue to do the work we do. If you visit our project regularly and find value in it, then please consider becoming an active participant in the following ways:

Leave comments for the writers and artists, especially if you enjoy their work. This is a way of letting all of us know that what we are doing matters. Your feedback carries enormous weight, and considering how many regular visitors we have, it is hard to understand why we don’t get more of it. Make this the year that you commit to step up and share your thoughts. We need more of this from you, please.

Become a Minutes Before Six volunteer. We have several special projects planned for the upcoming year, with positions to match all skill sets, and you can work from your home at your own pace. We have an amazing team and would love to have you join us!

Make a donation to Minutes Before Six! We are a registered non-profit and all contributions are tax-deductible. You can donate via pay pal (click the donate button in the right sidebar), our Go Fund Me campaign, or by cash or check. In addition to monetary donations, another important way you can help is by sending US postage stamps, a significant resource Minutes Before Six relies upon. Cash, checks and stamps can be mailed to:

Minutes Before Six

2784 Homestead Road #301

Santa Clara, CA 95051

Additionally, you can designate Minutes Before Six to receive donations when you sign up for the Amazon Smile program, which provides our organization with a small percentage of your total purchases on their US platform, at no additional costs to you! As a registered non-profit project, Minutes Before Six is eligible to receive donations through similar programs, such as corporate-sponsored gift matching, as well. Please consider us!

Please know, we are grateful for your support and wish you and your loved ones the very best this holiday season.

Season’s greetings – Teri & Dina