PIKEVILLE, Tenn. — Over 200 inmates at the Bledsoe County Correctional Complex are raising money to help nonprofits during their sentences.
The "Lifers Club" is a group of BCCX inmates serving sentences of 25 years or longer. The group leads fundraising efforts for nonprofits across Tennessee.
“It’s kind of a way for us to right a wrong that we did when we weren’t able to be there for our kids,” one inmate, who couldn't be named, told 10News in 2019.
The club's latest effort was to help tornado survivors in Cookeville after a series of tornadoes swept through Middle Tennessee.
In the weeks following the storms, the Lifers Club collected and sent a little over $1,000 and approximately $500 worth of supplies to the Cookeville Community Center for tornado relief, BCCX said.
BCCX said the club continued its efforts and raised an additional $5,537; the check was mailed to the Cookeville Community Center earlier this week.
“A lot of people were hit hard by the storms, and with the coronavirus following right behind it, many have not been able to really focus on rebuilding and getting back on their feet,” one Lifers Club inmate said via a BCCX press release. “These are our communities too, and we want to help."
