ABO Comix Prisoner Solidarity Fundraiser

Hey everybody!

All the folks over at ABO Comix are raising money to get the organization off the ground and into a more stable and sustainable position. We are fundraising to continue to help our artists and contributors in prison who receive regular donations to their commissary or their loved ones. Donations in prison are used for buying food, clothing, weather-specific items for intense heat or cold, copays for medical care, gender affirming items, and art supplies. 

We are also raising money to continue publishing the voices of our queer family behind bars, creating merchandise to help fundraise, to be able to continue to throw events that engage our community and help spread a message of solidarity for LGBTQ prisoners. 

Excluding overhead, our proceeds go directly to assisting queer people who are incarcerated all throughout the country with a multitude of needs. This fundraiser would lay a foundation for us to expand our work and recruit more people; volunteers, allies, and contributors. It is a dream of ours for ABO Comix to be a sustainable and successful nonprofit that not only supports our queer family behind bars but also creates bridges for them to recover and integrate back into society post incarceration. We are currently assisting in resume and portfolio  building for our contributors. We have high hopes of one day being able to employ those who were formerly incarcerated as well. As stated before this money will give us the needed capital to help us achieve our goals. 

OUR MISSION
ABO Comix is a collective of creators and activists who work to amplify the voices of LGBTQ prisoners through art. By working closely with prison abolitionist and queer advocacy organizations, we aim to keep queer prisoners connected to outside community and help them in the fight toward liberation. The profits we generate go back to incarcerated artists, especially those with little to no resources. Using the DIY ideology of "punk-zine" culture, ABO was formed with the philosophy of mutual support, community and friendship.

Our collective is working towards compassionate accountability without relying on the state or its sycophants. ABO believes our interpersonal and societal issues can be solved without locking people in cages. Our mission is to combat the culture that treats humans as disposable and disproportionately criminalizes the most marginalized amongst us. Through artistic activism, we hope to proliferate the idea that a better world means redefining our concepts of justice.

OUR WORK
*We help give a platform to marginalized community members inside prison and a way to express themselves artistically
*We work closely with incarcerated LGBTQ+ members to develop artwork & provide feedback so that artists can hone their skills
*We help introduce the public to the plight of queer prisoners
*We fundraise for and provide financial assistance to our contributors and other LGBTQ+ prisoners in need
*We create and maintain LGBTQ+ community contact and friendship across prison walls
*We support LGBTQ+ prisoners to gain knowledge and experience in the publishing/artistic industry
*We provide artists with credentials for a portfolio and letters of recommendation (for parole boards, etc.)
*We introduce prisoners to other organizations that may assist them with needs or publish their work
*We engage with the local community at events (workshops, book and zine fests)
*We collaborate and work in solidarity with other prisoner advocacy/abolitionist groups