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Mrs. Gill from Bossier City, LA is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

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Fueling Young Minds: Book Vending Machine for Our Reading Rockets

Help me give my students the joy of choosing their very own books from a book vending machine by sparking a love of reading, rewarding positive behavior, and making literacy an exciting, daily adventure that takes them places.

  • $8,540 goal

This project expired on September 14, 2025.

This project expired on September 14, 2025.

My Project

Help me give my students access to a book vending machine that will turn reading into an exciting and empowering experience. At our Title I elementary school, we serve over 750 students from Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade, many of whom have limited access to books at home. A book vending machine would provide our students with a tangible reward for positive behavior, academic effort, and personal growth—offering them the chance to choose and keep a book of their very own. This not only promotes literacy but builds a sense of pride, ownership, and excitement around reading.

With your support, this book vending machine would become a meaningful part of our literacy initiatives, aligned with our school wide goals of equity, engagement, student achievement, and sparking a broader community service initiative that supports literacy beyond the school walls.

Empowering students to become literacy community leaders will give them the a voice and sense of responsibility as they organize book drives, read aloud at daycare centers or retirement homes, or help create digital story times to share throughout the community. The book vending machine would serve as both a reading incentive to boost literacy, and it will be used as a tool to foster a lifelong love of books, particularly for students who may not have a home library. A book vending machine is more than a way to distribute books, it’s a launchpad for student empowerment, family engagement, and community-wide literacy service. Engaging our older students with a book vending machine will encourage them to participate in reading buddy programs that will emphasize giving, sharing, and leading, which makes literacy a living, shared value across our school and community.

Funding this project, you’ll help us put high-interest, diverse, and grade-appropriate books directly into the hands of children who need them most.

Mrs. Gill Apollo Elementary School Grades 3-5

Equity Focus

This project directly supports students at a historically underfunded school. Learn more about our Equity Focus.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

Bossier City, LA View local requests

More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

750 students impacted

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TEACHERS, FEELING INSPIRED?

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
Cosmic Inchy Book Vending Machine • Bookvending.com $5,395.00 1 $5,395.00
Vending Book Bundle Option 3 • Bookvending.com $350.00 1 $350.00

Materials cost

$5,745.00

Vendor shipping charges

 $895.00

Sales tax

 $502.69

3rd party payment processing fee

$86.18

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$7,258.87

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$1,280.98

Total project goal

$8,539.85

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Gill and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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