Fundraising Opportunity

Is your group having an event or fundraising opportunity? Consider selling our books on consignment.

We would send a full box of any of the following titles to you. Your group would keep about half the retail cost of the books, send us $7.50 per book sold, and return the remaining books in re-saleable condition. These titles retail at $14.95.

- Chicken Soup for the Prisoner’s Soul (24 per box)
- Serving Time, Serving Others (36 per box)
- Serving Productive Time (33 per box)
- Chicken Soup for the Volunteer’s Soul (24 per box)

For additional details and to arrange, please e-mail: Tom@TomLagana.com

What People Are Saying About Our Books...

"After reading your book, Serving Productive Time, I have been inspired and motivated to live a better and positive life. I even made a TO DO LIST of goals and things that I need to improve, including getting a Bible and finding my relationship with God. I’m an 'Underground Rapper,' and I used to write and rap about 'negative' things that wouldn’t motivate anybody except for people that do not appreciate life. But your book gave me motivation to send a 'positive' message that will hopefully inspire my listeners to have hope, appreciate life, and for them to know that they are not alone. I think that you two are angels! You’ve touched my heart and changed my life. God Bless You."
- Jeremy, Emporia, Virginia

“I hate the life I’ve led and all the people I hurt. In this bad point in my life, Chicken Soup for the Prisoner’s Soul encouraged me to look forward to a better future.”
– Joshua, Florence, Arizona

"I want to take this time to thank you both for being wonderful ambassadors for Christ, and using your time and God-given talents to truly be a conductor of change for many men and women throughout this country."
- John Schmidt, Smyrna, Delaware

“I’m not the same person since I read Chicken Soup for the Prisoner’s Soul. It continues to inspire me and other inmates here.”
– Benjamin, Taber City, North Carolina

"Your books are my only way of feeling the Lord's presence in my cell. Thanks for helping me know that I'm not all alone."
- Kelly, Richmond, California

“It’s hard to maintain hope when all around me, all I see is darkness. But when I begin to feel this way, I simply pick up the book Serving Time, Serving Others, and I’m reminded that even in prison miracles do happen . . . that kindness overshadows the dark, and that I cannot ever give up hope.”
- Glenn Wright, FCC-Petersburg, Virginia

"We ordered lots of Serving Productive Time, and we're 'eating it up.' These short, inspirational stories from people 'who have been there' are very helpful to our men and women in King County Jail. With the level of stress, fear about their futures, and the lack of distracting programs, our inmates find the Serving Productive Time, Chicken Soup for the Prisoner’s Soul, and Serving Time, Serving Others books to be 'Life Savers' or 'God-Sends.' We are so grateful for them!"
- Patrice Eilers, OP – Seattle, Washington

“The stories in Chicken Soup for the Prisoner’s Soul made me feel better, grateful, and not so sad with self-pity. Thanks for remembering us in prison with this book.”
- Kevin, Cumberland, Maryland

“Through Chicken Soup for the Prisoner’s Soul, I found hope in a seemingly hopeless situation.”
– Joseph, Suffolk, Virginia

Graffiti Magazine

Our thanks to the folks at Graffiti Magazine for synergizing with us. They have posted some work from our books and will continue to update their website with new material.

Graffiti Magazine gives opportunities for anyone touched by incarceration to submit their work for publication. See their submission guidelines and consent forms on their website:
http://www.graffitimagazine.com/

Laura Lagana - Keynotes at Women's Retreat

My wife, Laura Lagana, will be the Keynote Speaker at the New Covenant Women's Spring Retreat on Saturday, April 10 from 9:00am to 4:30pm at the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant in Wilmington, Delaware 19809. For more info:
Click here for Flyer (pdf file)

Encouragement for Prisoners

Each week, Laura and I receive dozens of letters from prisoners, and we answer them all. Many ask us to send them books, some submit their work for a possible future book, and others simply write for advice or to get things off their chest.

Recently we received letters from two men who are reaching out simply for encouragement. One is incarcerated in Wisconsin and the other in West Virginia.

Anyone interested in sending an occasional note or card will be greatly appreciated. It can be a one-time correspondence, simply signed “Someone Who Cares” or you may sign it however you like.

We recommend that you NEVER share your home address when responding. If you do not have a post office box or an office address to use, you may use our PO Box address below, however we will not be forwarding mail to you that we receive.

This project is simply to encourage inmates who are reaching out. To participate, please e-mail Tom@TomLagana.com asking for the name and address of an inmate who needs encouragement.

Thanks for making a difference.

Chicken Soup for the Prisoner’s Soul
PO Box 7816
Wilmington, DE 19803

Guided Self-Love Meditation – Saturday, March 6 at 10:30 am -- North Wilmington

Note: 13 people attended this meeting. Our thanks to Wilson Cheung for facilitating.
~~

Our next meeting will be mainly a guided, healing self-love meditation, which I experienced several weeks ago and want to share with others. Although I’m hosting this event, it will be facilitiated by Wison Cheung.

Meeting details: Saturday, March 6, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm at the Brandywine Library (1300 Foulk Road) on the second floor in Room 209 A & B. Arrive at 10:30 to start prompy at 10:45 am.

The meditation will last about 45 minutes with some discussion before and after. There will be plenty of chairs to sit on, but also feel free to bring a pillow, mat, or towel if you would like to sit on the floor. For more details about Wilson's meditations, see www.wakundama.com/meditations.html

Also invite others who may be interested, and please RSVP by e-mail: Tom@TomLagana.com

Note: Our following meeting will be on April 24 – same time and place -- topic to be announced in April.

“Prisontations” in Florida and Virginia – February 2010

We returned yesterday after 19 days on the road. Laura and I presented seminars for about 350 men and women in several jails and prisons in Florida and Virginia. We also dropped some of our books off at correctional facilities we happened to pass in our travels so that staff there can make them available to the inmates they serve.

We had many interesting and varied experiences on this trip both inside and outside the razor wire. In addition to our “prisontations” listed below, we witnessed two launches from the Kennedy Space Center—one was the last night-time launch in the Space Program.

Our trip started one day earlier than expected to avoid the snow and ice storms in Virginia and The Carolinas. Packing so quickly to get out of town fast meant forgetting a few things, but we managed. We also missed both blizzards at home in Delaware. Fortunately we are blessed with wonderful neighbors who plowed our driveway and sidewalk so we could get inside our home.

Below are some details (in reverse order) about our experiences behind bars this month:

Mecklenburg County Jail
Boydton, Virginia (population 469)
15 February 2010
Presented 8 mini-seminars for a total of about 112 men and women. This was a unique experience, as we spoke to the inmates in a narrow hallway outside their cells through the bars. Ironically, it was well received. Much appreciation to Penny Patton and Morgan Moss, founders of the “Community Model Association of America (CMAA),” who oversee the programs at the jail and who sponsored our presentations and books for the inmates. For more details
click here to see a pdf file with an article about this jail visit.
Note: The article on Feb. 24, 2010, entitled "Library, Sheriff bring 'Chicken Soup' to prisoners" is from the South Hill Enterprise (www.southhillenterprise.com).

Baskerville Correctional Center
Baskerville, Virginia
15 February 2010
Book drop for the chaplain who will make our books available to the inmates there.

Brevard County Jail
Cocoa, Florida
10 February 2010
Book drop and met with one of their counselors who agreed to make our books available to the inmates.

Brevard Correctional Institution
Cocoa, Florida
10 February 2010
Presented a 90-minute seminar for about 100 males. This prison is designated as a Youthful Offender facility housing more than 1,000 males between the ages of 19 and 24 years old. Our group included new entries and those headed for re-entry in the next few months. They were a challenging group.

Martin Correctional Institution
Indiantown, Florida
3 February 2010
Presented an hour seminar for about 40 men and volunteers in the chapel after their Catholic Eucharistic service and blessings of throats. Our thanks to the Catholic Chaplain who funded dozens of our books for the men at this facility, as well as Okeechobee Correctional Institution.

The Palm Beach County Central Detention Center
West Palm Beach, Florida
2 February 2010
Presented a 2-hour seminar for about 100 male and female inmates in the Substance Treatment and Recovery Program (STAR), aka The Drug Farm. This is a structured, intensive, therapeutic treatment program for substance abuser. Managed by strict military discipline, the STAR Program offers a supportive clinical setting conducive to promoting a personal process of recovery for each inmate. Several times the inmates responded, "Sir, Yes, Sir." This group was one of the best we’ve experienced in more than 100 presentations behind bars. Programs like STAR should be in more facilities. Quite impressive.