How To Volunteer

CPF is seeking volunteers (artivists) who are reliable and committed. Founded in 1992, CPF has always relied on the community to carry us forward. Since we have no paid staff (yet), the consistency and commitment of our volunteers is critical.

We need help responding to, scanning and processing letters from our incarcerated correspondents, writing and disseminating human rights reports, finding creative ways to elevate the voices of our imprisoned correspondents, media outreach, organizing events, engaging in legislative advocacy, community outreach, attending rallies and organizing KAGE Universal "pop ups", grant writing or research, as well as many other tasks big and small, both in and outside of the CPF office. 

CPF's new Co-Director, Min. King X arrived at CPF with a solid vision and program called K.A.G.E. Universal (Kings and Queens Against Genocidal Environements), which he developed and began implimenting behind the walls, while incacerated in California prisons 18 years. CPF and KAGE Universal have developed a partnership that drives the work we do. While we are seeking volunteers that are closely aligned with our vision and the programs we are currently developing, and who are committed to working together as a close-knit collective, there remains a great of room for new ideas, projects, creativity, collaborations and autonomy. 

How You Can Help From Home:

Join CPF's LETTER TYPING TEAM which vastly facilitates our ability to elevate and disseminate the voices of our correspondents, via prison reports, Prison Focus newspaper, Prison Focus radio, social media, Letters to the Editor and more. We have thousands of letters from the early 1990s on, mostly from correspondents in long-term solitary confinement (SHU) units. We plan to digitalize, organize and track these letters to expose human rights abuses, to inform relevant legislative and legal efforts, research and tthe shifting of harmful social narratives. 

How to get started:

• Spend some time looking through our website and Prison Focus newsletter archives to become familiar with the work we do.
• Fill out our volunteer information sheet.
• For questions, email us at cpfvol@gmail.com or for a more immediate response, text Kim at 510 833-0668.
• If are interested in learning more about the Letter Typing Team described above, read the Letter Typing Instructions to see how it works. If you decide you would like to participate in this community effort, you can request to be added to the google group at contact@prisons.org. Please put Typing Team in the subject line. (Please be patient with us, as we are volunteer-based. You're welcome to bug us though if you don't back from someone or receive an email within a couple of weeks.) 

We have monthly meetings that are currently on hold until we get a Volunteer Coordinator.