Friendsgiving 2025: Support Legal Services for Prisoners with Children and All Of Us Or None!

Volunteers handwrite holiday cards for incarcerated folks during the Friendsgiving gathering in 2023.

by Uma Nagarajan-Swenson (LSPC)

Friendsgiving brings folks to the table to celebrate community, break bread together, and write individual holiday cards to hundreds of incarcerated individuals throughout California and across the nation.  

Friendsgiving is an annual event hosted by All of Us or None (AOUON), a grassroots organization fighting for the full rights of formerly and currently incarcerated people and their families. AOUON is a project of Legal Services for Prisoners (LSPC).

This gathering, held each November, is a deeply valued tradition rooted in community, healing, and solidarity. During a season that carries painful reminders of separation for many in our community, directly impacted individuals, family members, LSPC alumni, and allies will gather on Friday, November 21st, at the Freedom & Movement Center in Oakland to forge a joyful and intentional Thanksgiving alternative. 

Critical to Friendsgiving is the practice of collective card-writing to incarcerated individuals. By writing personalized, handwritten letters to each inside member of AOUON, we sustain a ritual of community and reflection that uplifts the experiences of incarcerated people as the reason we do this work. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Your participation in this process, whether at the event or from home, is deeply appreciated and makes a real impact on our loved ones and folks inside. Reach out to Angela Kray at angelakraysf@gmail.com to request a card-writing kit for your congregation or community group. 

Other questions or comments? Reach out to gillian@prisonerswithchildren.org using the email subject “LSPC Friendsgiving”. 

Mark your calendars for Friendsgiving on November 21^st, 2025, at the Freedom & Movement Center, 4400 Market Street, Oakland, CA 94608! For more details, visit prisonerswithchildren.org.