About The Re-Write It Project

The Re-Write It Project (RWIP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in Chicago by high schoolers to address unequal access to basic school supplies.

What sets our organization apart from others is that we are a student-led nonprofit. The RWIP was founded by high schoolers in 2020, and has maintained high school leadership throughout.

Two volunteers showing completed supply kits beside boxes of donated materials. — Volunteers with refurbished supplies ready for students.

Our founding

2020
Founded by Chicago students
Four Chicago high school students founded The Re-Write It Project in August 2020 after seeing how unequal access to learning resources affected students during the pandemic.
Present
Student-led chapters carry it forward
Chapters collect, refurbish, and distribute supplies in their own communities. The project has distributed 18,576 school supply kits.

Our mission

Our mission is to provide underserved students around Chicago with access to quality learning resources imperative to unlocking their fullest academic potential. We aim to reduce educational inequities by combating systemic influences that impede student access to essential supplies.

By refurbishing used materials into quality supplies and supply kits for students, we apply environmentally sustainable practices to rewrite the narrative surrounding worn supplies. Our goal is to empower students to explore their creative outlets and tap into the powerful instrument of education. Our dedicated high school chapters carry out the collection and refurbishing process by taking the initiative to repurpose and renew these materials for a meaningful cause.

Two masked volunteers sorting donated books and materials at a table. — Checking and sorting donated books.

A masked volunteer packing school supplies into bags on a table. — Preparing bags of supplies for distribution.

Two masked volunteers carrying open boxes of donated supplies. — Moving donations collected by the community.

Our core values

Educational equity

We believe that access to quality school supplies is the first step in addressing educational inequities and helping students reach their fullest academic potential.

Sustainability

We collect used supplies, refurbish them, and distribute supply kits to elementary schools. This system promotes sustainable practices and ensures no good supplies go to waste.

Student leadership

Our central leadership team is made up entirely of college and high school students, so the whole organization is run by the same young people doing the on the ground work.

Community

We deliberately match every chapter’s distribution to an elementary school in its own community, so students see firsthand that volunteer work is happening right in their own neighborhood.