Hundreds of toys will be available for families at the Historic Site on December 21.
December 22, 2023
Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site (Eastern State) will host a special toy giveaway on Thursday, December 21 at 1 p.m. to support families impacted by crime or incarceration. This year marks the 10th annual toy drive but the first that invites families to come to a dedicated giveaway at Eastern State. In previous years, the toys were distributed through various partner organizations. The initiative was coordinated by the 2023 LEAD (Lived Experience Activating Dialogue) Fellowship cohort, which is comprised of individuals reentering their communities after release from prison.
One in 28 American children has a parent in prison. In Pennsylvania alone, there are approximately 81,000 children with a parent incarcerated in a Pennsylvania state prison.
The organization collected toys and books from November 24 through December 17 and offered buy one, get one daytime admission to Eastern State in return. Donations of toys and books that support children’s imaginations, literacy skills, self-esteem, and creativity were encouraged, and more than 5,500 were collected. More than a dozen community organizations are partnering with Eastern State to support the drive and distribution event. A full list of partners can be found here.
About the LEAD Fellowship:
The LEAD (Lived Experience Activating Dialogue) Fellowship is a holistic reentry initiative at Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site that gives people coming home from prison the tools and support they need to transform their lives, their communities, and the world.
Eastern State Penitentiary invites recently incarcerated people to join a true fellowship of their peers, working together to realize their full potential and reacclimate to life outside prison walls — mind, body, and soul. Every LEAD Fellow is paid for their participation and receives hands-on job training, establishing a pathway to meaningful, sustainable career opportunities in the museum field or other fields of interest. LEAD Fellows are also provided access to vital resources like housing support, financial education, and career services.
In addition to providing structured reentry support, the LEAD Fellowship is a bridge-building program that has a positive impact both on-site at Eastern State Penitentiary and in the community beyond. LEAD Fellows share their unique perspectives as formerly incarcerated people with museum visitors, unraveling stereotypes about people who have been incarcerated and augmenting the conversations about the criminal justice system happening at Eastern State every day. LEAD Fellows also engage community members beyond the walls of ESP in discussions about the impact of mass incarceration and their own lived experiences.
The LEAD Fellowship is a flagship program of Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site. An active prison from 1829 through 1971, Eastern State is now a museum that interprets, and encourages dialogue about, the legacy of criminal justice reform in America.
About Eastern State Penitentiary:
Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site interprets the legacy of American criminal justice reform, from the nation’s founding through to the present day, within the long-abandoned cellblocks of the nation’s most historic prison.
Eastern State Penitentiary was once the most famous and expensive prison in the world, but stands today in ruin, a haunting world of crumbling cellblocks and empty guard towers. Known for its grand architecture and strict discipline, this was the world's first true "penitentiary," a prison designed to inspire penitence, or true regret, in the hearts of prisoners. Its vaulted, sky-lit cells held approximately 80,000 men and women during its 142 years of operation, including bank robber "Slick Willie" Sutton and “Scarface” Al Capone.
Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site is open for tours year-round. Admission includes “The Voices of Eastern State" Audio Tour, narrated by actor Steve Buscemi; award-winning exhibits; and a critically acclaimed series of artist installations.
In recent years, Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site has been awarded the prestigious Excellence in Exhibitions award by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the nation’s highest award in exhibition development and design, for its exhibit Prisons Today: Questions in the Age of Mass Incarceration, as well as the Institutional Award for Special Achievement from the Pennsylvania Federation of Museums and the Trustee Emeritus Award for Stewardship from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The LEAD Fellowship, formerly called the Returning Citizens Tour Guide Project, has won the EdCom Award for Innovation in Museum Education by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) and has been featured internationally by such networks as the BBC and others.
For more information, visit www.EasternState.org and follow Eastern State Penitentiary on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and Tik Tok
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