Inmates in Texas are doing their part to help victims of Hurricane Harvey.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice wrote in a Facebook post that thousands of incarcerated offenders in various prisons used some of their commissary money to donate to the American Red Cross.
According to the Dallas Morning News, more than 6,000 inmates contributed, donating $53,863 to Harvey relief efforts.
"It's just something they chose to do," Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark told the outlet. "They were requesting to donate money."
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Typically inmates spend their commissary money on food, toilet paper and personal hygiene.
Clark said the average inmate donated $8, but some gave hundreds of dollars.
This isn't the first time Texas inmates have helped after a natural disaster.
Following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, offenders donated more than $40,000 to the Red Cross, the department said.
Last month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott estimated that the cost to clean up after the storm will exceed $180 billion, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in the country's history, NBC 5 reports.
no_bear_so_low on October 21st, 2017 at 10:19 UTC »
I honestly wish they kept the money, they need it more for when they get out.
starshame on October 21st, 2017 at 07:39 UTC »
The hurricane or the movie producer?
GiaCantSleep on October 21st, 2017 at 05:03 UTC »
Having worked with prisoners, I've know several that donated to various causes whilst making $0.25-$1/hr themselves. Some people make mistakes and really don't deserve such long, punitive sentences.