Zora’s Garden Book Drive
What Is the Zora’s Garden Book Drive?
The Zora’s Garden Book Drive was created to amplify what has already proven possible when children are invited into storytelling through care, imagination, and joy.
For more than a decade, Rae Chesny has led award-winning, literacy-based programming for children, serving over 5,000 children worldwide. As a Zora Neale Hurston scholar and educator, her work centers storytelling as a living practice that helps children see themselves as thinkers, makers, and meaning-builders.
Zora’s Garden grew out of that work.
Since launching Zora’s Garden in Eatonville, Florida, Zora Neale Hurston’s hometown, in June 2022:
More than 1,500 hardcover copies of Zora’s Garden have been distributed across the country
Each book has been accompanied by Zora’s Garden seeds and stickers, extending the story beyond the page
Over 32 child-centered Zora’s Garden events and programs have been led by Rae Chesny
The response has been clear. Children connect deeply to the story. Educators and caregivers see its value. Communities ask for more.
The Zora’s Garden Book Drive exists to extend that impact, connecting children across classrooms, communities, and learning spaces through storytelling inspired by one of the greatest storytellers of all time, reimagined as a child discovering her own voice.
Tax-Deductible Giving
All donations to the Zora’s Garden Book Drive are 100% tax deductible through our fiscal sponsor and community partner, Zora’s House.
Zora’s House processes all book drive donations and provides donors with the appropriate tax documentation.
Why It Matters?
Zora’s Garden centers joy in childhood, through curiosity, imagination, tenderness, and possibility. This matters for Black children and children of color, but it is important for their peers, too.
When children of all backgrounds encounter Black and Brown characters rooted in joy, creativity, and interior life, it expands what is possible for everyone. It helps classrooms, communities, and the world at large become places where no child’s experience is reduced to struggle alone. Instead, it widens the tapestry so all children can experience rich, imaginative lives full of promise, reminding us that we are more alike in our individual ways than different.
The Zora’s Garden Book Drive exists to help place that vision into shared learning spaces and communities where children can imagine together and grow together.
How the Book Drive Works
The Zora’s Garden Book Drive is community-powered and garden-structured, designed to be transparent, participatory, and rooted in care.
Bookseeds → The books. Each copy of Zora’s Garden is a seed for the imagination.
Garden Beds → The places. Schools, classrooms, organizations, etc where seeds are planted.
Planting → When books arrive and are shared with children.
Storytelling → The sun. Storytellers bring warmth and light that help stories grow.
Author Visit → The sun shining. A shared moment where the story comes alive.
The Garden → All of us, growing together in honor of beloved storyteller Zora Neale Hurston.
1. Step One: Community Participation
The book drive begins with community support.
Individuals, families, organizations, and partners participate by donating copies of Zora’s Garden to the book drive. All donated books are high-quality, 10 x 10 paperback editions, priced at $16 per book.
These donations are pooled and thoughtfully distributed so that books reach children through shared learning spaces and community settings.
Every contribution helps tend the garden.
Why 30 Books?
The book drive operates on a 30-book minimum per garden bed.
Thirty books reflects the size of the average U.S. classroom, which typically serves 30 students or fewer. This ensures that when a garden bed is fulfilled, every child receives a copy of Zora’s Garden.
For organizations and community groups, the 30-book minimum ensures there are enough books to support meaningful programming and the coordination required to bring children together for shared experiences.
Thirty books is the foundation, not the limit. Some garden beds, such as summer camps or large community programs, may require additional books to serve larger groups.
2. Step Two: Zora’s Garden Garden Beds
Each participating group is treated as a Zora’s Garden garden bed.
Garden beds receive copies of Zora’s Garden as seeds planted to be cared for and nurtured through reading, imagination, and shared experience.
Garden beds may include:
Classrooms
Schools
Libraries
Literacy programs
Community and cultural organizations
Homeschool collectives
We also distribute donated books to specialized garden beds, including:
Zora Neale Hurston-related events and initiatives
Strategic partner programs
Community-named or sponsored garden beds
Along the way, we track how many copies of Zora’s Garden have been donated so supporters can see how the garden is growing over time and view our collective impact.
3. Step Three: Reaching the 30-Book Minimum
Once enough donations are received to meet the 30-book minimum for a garden bed, our team reaches out to the school, organization, or group that has been nominated or directly sponsored.
Books are shipped directly to that location. The garden bed is marked as fulfilled, and we track the number of books distributed to that garden bed.
Priority is given to schools, organizations, and communities that have been nominated by the public or directly sponsored.
4. Step Four: What Each Fully Funded Garden Bed Receives
For every fully funded garden bed, the receiving group receives:
One copy of Zora’s Garden for each child or student
One virtual reading of Zora’s Garden led by Rae Chesny
A minimum of 30 donated books is required
Virtual readings are typically scheduled four to six weeks after donation, allowing time for books to be ordered, delivered, and the garden bed to be ready to be planted
A digital copy of the Zora’s Garden Coloring Book and Activity Guide
K–3 Common Core alignment for ELA and Social Studies for educators
A sticker and a packet of Zora’s Garden seeds to extend engagement with the book
Seed packets ship separately
Educators, caregivers, and facilitators may choose how and when to use these materials in ways that best serve their students and learning environments.
5. Step Five: Continued Care
The book drive is ongoing. As additional books are donated and new garden beds are added, the garden continues to grow.
Supporters can:
Choose which garden beds to support
Watch the garden grow over time
Help new spaces take root
This structure keeps the book drive transparent, intentional, rooted, and grounded in care.
Sponsorship Opportunities
The Zora’s Garden Book Drive is made possible through sponsorship support from organizations, businesses, and individuals who believe in the power of storytelling, imagination, and shared learning. Sponsorships help place Zora’s Garden books, treated as Bookseeds, into learning spaces across the country and support virtual author visits that bring the story to life for children.
Sponsors play a vital role in growing the garden by supporting multiple garden beds and extending the reach of a proven, community-centered literacy initiative inspired by the life and legacy of Zora Neale Hurston. Sponsorship opportunities are flexible and designed to align with a range of values, goals, and levels of impact.
Questions or need to contact us?
Email :
Cade Hendricks, Campaign Manager cade@litcoconsulting.com
Purchasing Zora’s Garden for Home
The Zora’s Garden Book Drive exists to support learning spaces, but Zora’s Garden is also available for families who wish to purchase copies for home use.
Books may be purchased:
for your own child
as a gift for a special child in your life
to enjoy and return to at home
Zora’s Garden is available in both hardcover and paperback editions.
Purchasing a book for home is a wonderful way to extend the story while also supporting the broader work of Zora’s Garden.
