Walk into the new space of local nonprofit Storytime Crafts and you’re transported to a magical world of color and stories. Hundreds of children’s books line the shelves, stuffed animals abound, and painted, tiny chairs representing famous books line the wall. The place is rich with the spirit of imagination and reading.
It’s all the brainchild of Needham resident Lisa Vergara, whose mission is to distribute these literary riches to children in need. Since she created Storytime Crafts in 2019, she and her volunteers have distributed nearly 180,000 books, 18 Little Free Libraries, 87 craft chairs, 18,000 stuffed animals and much more to schools, community centers and homeless shelters throughout the Greater Boston area. She started collecting donations at her home, then moved the operation to a local church basement and recently relocated to 20 Kearney St.
Vergara said it all started with the chairs. Her training was in graphic design so she designed beautifully illustrated storybook chairs, then thought, “What does this mean? Where will they go?” She donated some of the chairs and had the idea to find sponsors for them in order to raise money for book distribution to schools. Once she started dropping off donated books to schools, teachers would say things like, “We put out 1,000 books and they’re gone by noon. You should start a nonprofit!” So she did.
While Vergara is happy to distribute any new or like-new books, she stated her main priority is to get books by diverse authors into the hands of Black and brown children who might not have access. “Some of these children have had really hard journeys.” And while she doesn’t equate her experience of growing up modestly in Needham with the challenges of being poor in Boston, she does know a thing or two about not having a lot. Her father was a bricklayer and her mother a housewife. “It always stayed with me that we didn’t have much.”
Vergara said she knew she couldn’t just be a white woman going into Black communities. She needed Black voices to guide her, share ideas and offer suggestions. She reached out to author Ty Alan Jackson, who lived in Pittsfield at the time. An award-winning author and literacy advocate, Jackson has written many children’s books including “Make Your Own Money.” He joined the Storytime Crafts board, helped distribute books into Boston schools and even inspired some financial literacy seminars.
Siri Carr, the librarian at the Ellis Elementary School in Roxbury, said Vergara is known as “The Librarian’s Fairy Godmother” since she has donated high-quality books and stuffed animals to students at her school and others at no cost. “We have the second- or third-highest homeless population in all of Boston public schools,” Carr said. “Many of our students have no permanent address and we don’t have the funds.” As Carr put it, Vergara is “redistributing wealth into our public schools.”
Vergara’s donations don’t stop with books. She has distributed 35,000 masks, 20,000 games, 24,000 toys and more than 1,000 bikes. She even collects goods for hygiene kits. What started out with a few chairs and a book donation to one school in Boston has spread to dozens of Boston schools and to communities including Chelsea, Framingham and New Bedford. She often picks up and unloads donations herself. Vergara is like the character in one of the children’s books, “The Little Engine that Could.”
Many of Vergara’s volunteers are students from Needham schools. And her sponsors include a long list of local businesses. The testimonials for Storytime Crafts line the walls. And the list of partners, including The Martin Richard Foundation and Endicott College, help buoy the nonprofit. But in the end, there is still a great need, especially for more sponsorships, because Vergara’s vision keeps expanding. She’d like to do story walks and story bags that stimulate conversations about books.
For Vergara, it’s always about the kids. She says at night she thinks about the impact Storytime Crafts has had and delights in knowing that “something so small can bring so much joy to a child.”
For more information www.StorytimeCrafts.net
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