Boy Uses Allowance Money to Buy Inmates Books

A 9-year-old boy who loves to read recently decided to share his passion with others, specifically, with inmates. Tyler Fugett, a Tennessee native, used his allowance money to buy more than 100 books for prisoners at a local jail, according to ABC News.

He said he hopes the books will resonate with inmates and encourage them to turn their lives around. According to ABC, he just suddenly appeared at the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office with all the books, and of course, they were happy to receive them.

His mother, Rebecca Corkren, said he came to her asking if she would take him to book sales so he could buy them with his allowance. She told ABC, “He said, ‘When I’m thinking bad thoughts, I like to read, so I want to collect books for them.’”

Fugett also said he wanted to help them not be bored behind bars so they wouldn’t be able to think about doing bad things.

“He said, ‘If they read, they don’t have time to think about doing bad things when they come out. Maybe they’ll find one thing in there that would make them click to be better people,’” she added.

Sandra Brandon, public information officer for the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, said the jail “has no budget” and they rely completely on donations, “so when we get anything we’re just very excited.”

And it’s not just the jail that’s struggling, Corkren said that she and her son live “penny to penny,” but even so, Fugett and his mom still have more books they’re going to donate.

“He has my house looking like a store and I’m like, ‘Whatever floats your boat, son,’ because he’s doing the right thing,”