Date:               February 27, 2020

Contact:           Deputy Dan Briars #95

Phone:             (630) 465-2067

Email:             dbriars@co.kendall.il.us

Kendall County Sheriff’s Office Participates in Aunt Mary’s Storybook Project 

On Friday, February 21, 2020 the Sheriff’s Office hosted Companions Journeying Together staff and their trained volunteers to hold a session of the Aunt Mary’s Storybook Project.  This program offers inmates an opportunity to select an age-appropriate book to read to their children and then they are audio recorded while they read the book.  The inmate can also include a personalized note for their children which, after being vetted by Kendall County Jail staff, is sent by Companions Journeying Together staff on behalf of the inmate, along with the selected books and recordings to the inmate’s children.

The books are brought to the facility and divided into age appropriate categories by the volunteers who assist inmates in choosing a book for each one of their children.  Aunt Mary’s Storybook Project is a volunteer program and is operated at no cost to the Sheriff’s Office or the taxpayers of Kendall County.  Inmates participating in this program have earned the opportunity to participate by demonstrating good behavior and abiding by the rules and regulations of the facility.

“It is important for children to have the opportunity to maintain a relationship with their incarcerated parent and it also gives an added incentive to the parent at our facility to follow the rules so they can continue to participate in the program” said Sheriff Dwight Baird.  “Our efforts aim to have a positive effect on the relationships between inmates and their children and to create a safer environment for our deputies, staff and inmates.”