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Texas prison inmates collect commissary funds, donate $53,000 to Hurricane Harvey relief

Average individual donation was $8
Posted at 8:07 AM, Oct 12, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-12 10:07:08-04

Donations for hurricane relief have come from all corners of the globe in recent months, including from behind the walls of several Texas prisons.

Thousands of inmates from multiple prisons and treatment centers across Texas donated about $53,000 to the American Red Cross this week after pooling their commissary funds, according to the Dallas Morning News.

About 7,000 inmates donated money from their meager allowances, which are usually used for extra food or personal items, according to a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

The newspaper reported that donations ranged from $1 to "hundreds of dollars" and averaged at about $8 per person.

The prisoners came up with the idea to donate themselves. Texas prisoners had previously pooled money in 2005 to donate to relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.

Clint Davis is a reporter for the Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @MrClintDavis. Keep up to date with the latest news by following @ScrippsNational on Twitter.