TRAVERSE CITY — A local nonprofit that helps incarcerated parents stay connected with their children through reading has received a $10,000 donation from 100+ Women Who Care Grand Traverse and Leelanau County.
The group awarded the funds to Remain in Touch during its July 9 meeting at the Traverse City Golf and Country Club. The organization was one of three nonprofits presented at the meeting, alongside Grand Traverse Ski Club and Sea2Stable.
Remain in Touch provides services to incarcerated parents in Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Benzie and Antrim counties, with plans to expand into Wexford County. The program allows parents to select free books and record themselves reading aloud to their children, ages 0 to 12. The books and recordings are then sent to the children. A separate program for teenagers allows parents to share personal messages and read books concurrently with their teens.
“Twice a month, our volunteers meet one-on-one with inmates to record them reading a book,” said Connie Eisenhart, founder of Remain in Touch. “We offer an invaluable lifeline for families while investing in our communities. Strong family ties are consistently shown to reduce recidivism and foster successful reintegration for the inmates.”
The donation from 100 WWC will support the organization’s work in Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties.
During the meeting, members also heard from last quarter’s recipient, Hoop’s Pet Food Pantry. That funding helped support food and supplies for more than 600 pets each month, including mobility equipment for older dogs.
100+ Women Who Care Grand Traverse and Leelanau County has been awarding quarterly donations of $10,000 or more since December 2011. The group has donated more than $500,000 to area nonprofits over the past 14 years.
The next meeting will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. October 8 at the Traverse City Golf and Country Club. New members are welcome. For more information, contact Kristin Marinoff at 100wwctc@gmail.com.