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Sing Sing Prison's Legacy of Giving

5/5/2020

Today is #GivingTuesdayNow, a new global day of giving and unity that is an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19.

In spite of its turbulent history, Sing Sing Correctional Facility has been a place that has inspired compassion and shared humanity. In the 1870s, Walt Whitman helped incarcerated men write letters to their families. In the 1930s, Warner Bros. studio donated a gymnasium to the prison. In the 1980s, Mother Teresa visited an AIDS ward at Sing Sing and advocated for hospice care.

The Sing Sing Prison Museum is honoring this legacy of giving by finding ways to support the incarcerated population and those working on the front lines. We're also thinking about the organizations - Hudson Link, Rehabilitation Through the Arts, the Osborne Association - that have made positive impacts within Sing Sing who now face new obstacles to provide their services.

Here are some ways you can make an impact:

Give your voice to help raise awareness, lend your talents to give pro bono hours to a nonprofit who needs your expertise.
Donate money, supplies, Personal Protective Equipment - anything you can to organizations on the front lines of this pandemic.
Show your support for local nonprofits who, despite COVID-19, are continuing to provide much needed services to the community.

You can show generosity in a variety of ways during #GivingTuesdayNow - whether it’s helping a neighbor, advocating for an issue, sharing a skill, or giving to causes, every act counts!

On the Front Lines

Hudson Link is working with fellow members of the New York Consortium for Higher Education in Prison (NY-CHEP) to purchase re-usable, protective face masks for every man and woman incarcerated in New York State to help combat the spread of COVID-19.

The Osborne Association is raising money to give cell phones to people leaving prison to access virtual services and supports, fund phone accounts while visiting is suspended, and underwrite the cost of technology for their remote workforce.

Rehabilitation Through the Arts is sending lesson plans and materials to the men and women in the six facilities where they work with, so participants can continue to engage with the arts in meaningful ways.

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COVID-19

3/25/2020

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To Our Sing Sing Prison Museum Community,

We wish to take this moment to connect with you while navigating these uncertain times and draw inspiration from our belief in the power of community.

One of the central goals of the Sing Sing Prison Museum is to have a positive impact on people who are incarcerated and their families, as well as the correction facility staff. As the spread of COVID-19 has intensified, we are dedicated to actively supporting efforts to respond to the critical challenge of reducing the spread of this disease within the correctional facility.

We are in regular contact with Sing Sing’s Superintendent Mike Capra and have offered to help him and his staff who are, in his words, “doing everything to the best of our ability to mitigate exposure to this virus.”

We applaud the extraordinary efforts of organizations such as Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison and Rehabilitation Through the Arts who provide direct services to Sing Sing and other correctional facilities. We encourage you to support their work.

In addition, we recognize that our neighbors in Westchester County and the Hudson Valley and our friends in New York City, Connecticut, and New Jersey are facing an unprecedented challenge that threatens their lives and livelihoods. The Museum is a part of this community and, as we build, we will be an anchor for the local and regional economy.

Our mission is to tell the story of Sing Sing, to challenge all of us to reimagine America’s criminal justice system and to take action to build a better society. We recognize that the COVID-19 crisis is an intensely human story that will have a profound and enduring impact on everyone. Another chapter in Sing Sing’s history is being written. The Museum has the responsibility to document and share this history and provide the perspective of time to make sense of the unique challenges we all face today.

Our well wishes to you all,

The Sing Sing Prison Museum Trustees and Staff

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Babe Ruth Returns to Sing Sing

12/27/2019

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While our Museum may not be open yet, there’s always a lot of action going on as we work towards our goal of welcoming you all into our doors. This month we heard about an exciting item that was up for sale and acquired a baseball signed at Sing Sing Prison by the New York Yankees in 1929. We can confirm that it features the signatures of Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Earle Combs and Bill Dickey.

With her extensive knowledge in auctions, Assistant Director Hilary Strimple led the effort to verify the baseball’s authenticity and was able to secure it during the bidding. We’re excited to have this item in our collection because it represents so much more than just celebrity and is linked to the story of prison reform.

Read more about baseball at Sing Sing Prison and the Mutual Welfare League here!

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Lyreacrompane Heritage Group Visits Sing Sing

2/7/2019

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TOP ROW LEFT TO RIGHT: Shane Harrington, Corinne Laurice (who had Just married), Joe Harrington, Lyreacrompane Heritage Group, Kay O'Leary, Lyreacrompane Heritage Group, James Harrington, Arthur M. Wolpinsky, Correction Officer, Jerry Faiella, Sing Sing Prison Museum Project Administrator, Stephanie Lynn, Sing Sing Prison Museum Vice Pres., Victoria Gearity, Ossining Village Mayor, Dana Levenberg, Ossining Town Supervisor, John P. Gilman, Lieutenant, John P. Mcmorrow, Lieutenant, PHOTOGRAPHY by Adam Ace