About

We are a teen–led nonprofit committed to supporting men returning home from incarceration at San Quentin. Men released on parole in California receive a mere $200 to start their lives on the outside. Founded and operated by students, our organization raises funds and assembles essential care kits filled with basic necessities to help ease the transition back into the community. Because $200 just isn’t enough.

Vivi Orum, Founder

I am a high school student at Marin Academy in San Rafael, California. I founded Because $200 Isn’t Enough after spending Thanksgiving with some men who were recently paroled from San Quentin. I was struck by how much they needed to learn and do in order to get their lives started and by the lack of state support to do so.  They were making tremendous efforts to learn things that are essential for them to integrate into society: how to navigate the public transportation system, how to use a smart phone, finding housing and employment and more. And $200 does nearly nothing to help these men get established. With San Quentin literally in our back yard, I think there’s a lot Marin Academy and other high school students could be doing to help support these men on the outside.