Prison Outreach – NH Women’s
Great News! We are pleased to be moving forward with a Prison Outreach Program in the NH Correctional Facility for Women in Concord. Furniture Masters Leah Woods and Lynn Szymanski have developed a curriculum and are eager to get started.
Because a space needs to be built, the program is slated to begin with a series of lectures and small carving projects to cover furniture making fundamentals. The woodshop will include basic woodworking equipment such as a table saw, jointer, planer and a band saw.
The Women’s Prison Outreach Program will emulate the framework of the NH men’s program, starting with basic use and care of hand tools. Participants will learn to layout and cut traditional furniture joinery by hand. Carving and shaping techniques will also be covered. These skills are not only required for furniture making, but are also used to fabricate smaller objects such as spoons, jewelry boxes and lamp bases.
On February 9, 2022, Leah Woods’ finished teaching the inaugural 12-week Women’s Prison outreach Program. The 12-week curriculum that Lynn Syzmanski, Mary McLaughlin, and Leah created, provides detailed information, during each class period, about the field of woodworking and carpentry, and construction material, and demonstration of hand and power tools. You can read more about Leah’s first session here.
Supporting the Women’s Prison Outreach Program
Please considering supporting the Prison Outreach Program in the New Hampshire Correctional Facility for Women. This is an excellent opportunity to help support women as they learn a marketable skill, flex their creativity and gain important life skills that they can put to use upon their release.
To make a tax-deductible donation to the Prison Outreach Program, click here. Please note in the comment box if you would like your donation to go directly to the NH women’s program.
The NH Women’s Prison Outreach Program is supported in part by grants from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, the New Hampshire Women’s Foundation Pathways to Prosperity and The Madelaine G. Von Weber Trust.