3 Ways You Can Help Kelley Williams-Bolar, Mom Jailed For Protecting Her Kids

by Carol Scott · 2011-01-27 14:39:00 UTC
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Kelley Williams-Bolar, an Akron, Ohio mom slammed with a felony conviction for sending her children to a suburban school district, got out of jail yesterday after serving 9 days of her 10-day sentence.

Today, she visited Change.org and was overjoyed by what she saw there, a family spokesman told us today. She took courage from the tens of thousands of people who have signed the Change.org petition on her behalf, said Rev. Bruce Butcher, an Akron minister working with the family.

"She expressed joy for what she'd seen," Butcher told us today. "She expressed joy in the support she's seeing online. We appreciate what you're doing and we appreciate the support."

As of this writing, more than 36,000 people have sent messages to Ohio Gov. John Kasich in support of Williams-Bolar. The mom of two argued in court that she was trying to keep her daughters safe from the violence in her Akron neighborhood. But because she allegedly falsified residency documents to send her daughters to school in the district where her father lived, she was sentenced to 10 days in jail, three years of probation and 80 hours of community service.

For trying to give her daughters a better life, Williams-Bolar went to jail. Here are three ways to help Williams-Bolar fight this conviction:

1. Sign the Change.org petition urging Gov. John Kasich to pardon Williams-Bolar. More signatures from people across the nation, and the world, will put more pressure on Kasich to right this wrong. Tell your friends, share the campaign on Facebook and Tweet the link using the hashtag #KelleyWilliamsBolar.

2. Target Gov. John Kasich's social media accounts. Kasich is on Twitter at @johnkasich and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/JohnRKasich. Here's a sample tweet: @johnkasich More than 36,000 people are urging you to pardon #KelleyWilliamsBolar -- moms shouldn't go to jail for protecting their kids.

3. Contribute to Kelley Williams-Bolar's legal fund. Update, 2/3/11: The Ohio Justice and Policy Center will be representing Williams-Bolar, the Akron Beacon Journal is reporting. Please contact that organization for more information.

Williams-Bolar - who, again, acted to protect her children - is also in danger of not being able to support them. Just classes away from a teaching degree, a felony conviction on her previously-clean record means she could be permanently barred from a job as an educator.

We'll continue to update you with news on this campaign.

Photo credit: Dprippa via YouTube

Carol Scott is the Education Editor for Change.org.

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