Stories Delivered Literary Aid

Purpose:

To provide under-resourced communities and classrooms across the Chicagoland Area with literary materials.

All corresponding documents, application forms, and other related materials will be made available here soon.

Spring 2021 Tentative Launch Schedule:

Monday, February 15th:

  • Our Venmo and Cashapp will begin accepting donations.

  • The Spring 2021 Stories Delivered Literary Aid Alternative Donation will open for community members interested in offering alternatives to monetary donations (i.e. gift cards and brand new books for K-12 youth). 

Monday, February 22nd through Monday, March 1st: 

  • Applications to receive materials/funds through the Stories Delivered Program will remain open.

Wednesday, March 2nd through Monday, March 8th:

  • The Sharing Our Stories team will make preparations for aid distribution. 

Tuesday, March 9th through Friday, March 18th:

  • Funds and literary materials will be distributed to Spring 2021 applicants.

Program Details:

Sharing Our Stories will be offering 3 forms of literary aid under this program:

  1. The Equity Box:

    1. Contains 3-5 books featuring protagonists of diverse backgrounds, with an emphasis on anti-racist themes. Currently, this Box is available to K-6 educators only and is purposed for classroom use.

    2. Examples of youth literature that could be in this Box include: Let the Children March by Monica Clark Robinson, Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights by Rob Sanders, and When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson.

  2. The Foundations Box:

    1. Each Box contains 2-3 brand-new and/or gently-used books of assorted genres. This Box is available to PreK-6 children from under-resourced or marginalized Chicagoland communities.

    2. Note: This Box is intended to be a supplementary resource for students who do not have access to a sufficient number of books in day-to-day schooling. These books are not necessarily categorized as diverse or anti-racist literature, but rather, can be used for general literary purposes and are from a variety of genres. 

    3. A parent, teacher, or other community members must fill out this form on behalf of the Recipient.

    4. Some books provided through this Box are sourced from Book Drives hosted on behalf of Sharing Our Stories that do not fit the literary criteria of our Anti-Racist Box. Examples of youth literature we have available include early chapter books, science fiction, and much more!

Guidelines and requirements for prospective Applicants:

  • Because we have a limited quantity of literary materials available, we prioritize Chicagoland educators from low-income school districts. Parents, administrators, and other members of the public cannot complete the Box Request Form on behalf of the educator.

  • If the Applicant has been notified that Sharing Our Stories can provide the requested Box, they must verify that they are an educator in the Chicagoland area before any materials are delivered. If this is not done by March 8th, your materials will be distributed to a waitlisted Applicant.

If Sharing Our Stories is unable to meet your request at the time of your application, you may be added to a Waitlist where your request may be met in a later distribution cycle.


All Recipients will be required to complete a 1-month post-reception Benchmark Form to ensure that the materials provided are being used and that there are no concerns regarding the materials. Failure to complete the Benchmark Form will occur in being prohibited from receiving additional literary aid from Sharing Our Stories.