Hope in a Box

HELP LGBTQ+ STUDENTS READ WITH PRIDE

This Pride Month, we’re raising funds to help students in Title 1 and rural schools “Read with Pride!” As laws and policies pass across the country to try and erase LGBTQ+ youth–from participating in sports to choosing who they can take to the prom or the books they are allowed to read in schools or public libraries–our work is more crucial than ever. 

We are asking for your help to create inclusive classrooms where each and every student can “Read with Pride.” Your donation helps us provide a box of 20-25 affirming and inclusive books to teachers in schools who have asked for them. 

Right now, LGBTQ+ youth are in desperate need of support and affirming spaces. We need your support now so every student can feel safe, welcome, and included at school, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation.

To date:

• We have sent books to tens of thousands of students in all 50 states;
• Nearly 1100 educators have participated in our educator network to learn how to create inclusive classrooms and get peer advice and encouragement.

Across the country, especially in rural and Title I schools where resources are often hardest to find, students are in urgent need of inclusive books and curriculum that represents LGBTQ+ students and families, and with your help, we can ensure LGBTQ+ people are seen, represented, and uplifted in the classroom.

Hope in a Box sends carefully curated books representing and affirming LGBTQ+ people to teachers and educators in public schools who have asked for them. The books are age appropriate for K-12 students with an affirming and intersectional point of view.

We also offer support groups and training for teachers on creating open and affirming classrooms for LGBTQ+ and all students.

“Hope in a Box is literally saving lives. When young LGBTQ people see themselves reflected in school curricula, their well-being improves and rates of bullying drop. By providing these resources to schools with little access to them, Hope in a Box is making a life-saving difference for young people.” 

— Kevin Jennings, CEO of Lambda Legal and former US Assistant Secretary of Education

As people with political aims move to roll back the rights of LGBTQ+ people, it’s important that we support students, teachers and stand with them as a clear voice for equality.

With your support, we will provide LGBTQ+-inclusive books curriculum to students and educators across the country. Educators that receive support from Hope in a Box have seen exceptional change in their classrooms:

•90% of educators say Hope in a Box noticeably improves the emotional well-being of LGBTQ+ students within one semester of receiving our materials

•100% of educators say they feel better equipped to support LGBTQ+ students because of Hope in a Box

•80% of teachers aim to formally include one of our books in their curriculum in the next academic year