Educators across the country are rising to the unique challenges of teaching today, and working to ensure that families and classrooms have the right tools to meet the needs of every single child. With teachers largely paying out of pocket for school supplies, they are relying on community contributions to get books to children — no matter the obstacles — and keep kids learning, reading, and growing. Inspired to help? Read on and click to the campaign that clicks with you.
Make Home Learning Possible
Support a Little Free Library Initiative
To meet the needs of remote learning, Teresa — who supports middle school and high school English classes in her district — helps her teachers build Little Free Libraries to get books to students and families who need them. With three already built, and more on the way, she's asking for your help to start stocking them.
Show Students the Wonders of Reading
Special education teacher Natalie says her students show what it truly means to fight for their education. In her Title 1 school, 96 percent of families are on free-and-reduced lunch plans. “My students do not have equitable access to books at home or in the community,” Natalie says. “I would like to build my classroom library to allow students to take home books and enjoy the wonders of reading.” Her goal is to raise $500 to build her classroom library and send each of her 35 students home with two to three books every week.
Give Kids Books for the First Time
Many of first-grade teacher Laila’s students don’t have any books to call their own when they start school, but she still wants to create excitement over books and establish a life-long obsession with stories. “I try to throw books into their hands as much as possible, but since many of my students don’t order books, I usually have to buy them out of pocket,” Laila says. “With schools facing major budget crises and talks of teacher salaries being cut, I’m not sure I can make that happen without help this year.” She is raising $600 to buy books for her incoming first grade class.
Meet This Goal: One Fiction Book, One Nonfiction Book
This will be the first year Tandi is teaching fourth grade, and she wants to start by building her own library and helping kids grow their home library. “I know the real joy of reading is found at home with their families,” Tandi says. There will be about 30 students in her class this year, and she wants to send each child home with two books — one fiction book, and one nonfiction book. She is raising $700 to help grow lifelong readers through her literacy-focused mission.
Provide a child with two new books!
Overcome Barriers and Grow Imaginations
Jeannette is a preschool teacher whose passion is seeing children fall in love with learning. However, over the past few months, parents have become their children’s teachers. “Many of these parents are struggling with personal financial loss,” Jeannette says. Because of this, she’s asking for help to raise $1,000 to share books with families in need. With your donation, you’ll help her give children books that capture their imagination and allow them to travel to different worlds from home.
Support reading in these families.
Surprise Students on July 6th
With her public school closed since March 12th, this first-grade teacher in Indianapolis is planning to show her class some love! Anne's students will be picking up their personal classroom items on July 6th, and she’s raising $450 to have a special book surprise waiting for them when they do. “Many of my students do not have a personal library at home for enjoyable reading,” Anne says. “I would love to include a book for each of my students to have for additional reading at home and as a way to let them know that they are doing a great job enduring these uncertain times.”
Turn a Dream Into Reality
Over the past few years, Jamie has worked tirelessly to build a classroom library filled with a wide variety of books that engage and inspire all of her kindergarteners’ unique interests. Now, her dream is to purchase a new book every month of the school year for each of the students in her class. “By the end of the school year, each student will have at least ten new books in their library at home,” Jamie says. “I hope to grow their love for reading by giving them their very own copies of the familiar books they love, as well as unfamiliar titles that will hopefully spark new interests.”
Build Classroom Libraries
Expand This Teacher’s Limited Library
Daniel recently moved to teaching elementary after being a middle school teacher for many years, and he’s starting with a limited library! He’s excited to teach second grade in the fall, but he needs to build a vast array of reading materials to create a reading corner that empowers his students to be thoughtful leaders.
Benefit a Classroom in Rural Alaska
Robert teaches kindergarten through 12th grade in a rural Alaskan village, which is only accessible by plane or boat. There are three teachers and 30 children in town. Robert wants to supply his students with a formal library where they can regularly check out books. “We would like to bring the love of reading to students who would benefit greatly from exposure to books of all types,” he says. He’s raising $2,000 to build the town’s dream library.
Send books to this small town.
Help Kids Explore Science
Rhonda teaches at a school in which 100 percent of students receive free breakfast and lunch, and she wants to provide them with nonfiction books to enhance their knowledge of science-related concepts and other subjects. “My students are excited to explore how things work in our universe,” Rhonda says. She’s raising $200 to meet her goal.
Refill a Bookshelf
This New Jersey teacher gained unique insight into her classroom: She noticed her fifth-grade students were more likely to choose and read a book if they didn’t need to sign it out. But with classroom closures, her students have left and so have many of her newer books. Because these kids are moving on to different schools, she wants to make sure her incoming class has the same opportunities to pick up a book and take it home.
Replenish this teacher's bookshelf!
Create a Community of Caring
Outside of the classroom, students’ lives can be challenging. But inside, Danielle tries to create a community that cares, shares, and grows together for her second graders at a Title 1 school in Maine. “One of the best ways to grow is through books,” she says. “But with reading comes well-loved books that eventually fall apart.” Danielle is raising $300 to replace the favorite books students love in her classroom, and to buy new books that have recently been released.
Help create a special community.
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