The Mary Ladky Teen Award Mentorship Program
The Mary Ladky Teen Award Mentorship Program at The Children’s Book
Dates: July 6 – November 30, 2026
Deadline to apply: June 9, 2026
Honorarium: $2,500
The Mary Ladky Teen Award is a mentorship program for high school students interested in learning about literacy and making a difference in their communities. Its purpose is to support ongoing literacy development in teen years, as well as provide hands-on learning and valuable work experience. Award recipients will serve as ambassadors for The Children’s Book Bank, supporting summer operations at the agency and developing a project to promote the Book Bank’s mission in their communities.
Recipients will complete an intensive eight-week summer mentorship (10 hours per week) with a CBB staff member at one of our four Book Bank locations across the city. There, they will learn how The Children’s Book Bank is working to improve literacy rates in Toronto by supporting our literacy programs, outreach events, and book donations. They will have the opportunity to work directly with literacy experts, educators, and authors.
During the mentorship period, recipients will work with their mentors to develop a project to promote literacy in their communities. Projects may take many different forms, including starting a school or community book club, organizing a tutoring program for younger students, leading a school-based reading circle, creating programming at a local community centre, developing an advocacy or awareness campaign, or other creative initiatives that promote literacy and a love of reading. Award recipients will execute their literacy advocacy projects in their communities during the fall (2-4 hours per week) and present the results of their projects at The Children’s Book Bank Story Soirée in November.
COMMITMENT
Eight-week summer mentorship program at one of our four Book Bank locations (10 hours per week)
Development and execution of a literacy advocacy project in your community during Fall 2026
Brief presentation of your project at The Children’s Book Bank Story Soirée on the evening of Thursday, November 12.
REQUIREMENTS
Must be a high school student in the 2026-2027 school year.
APPLICATION
To apply, please submit a resume and a brief essay (1-2 pages) answering the following questions:
Why is reading important?
Why is it important to have access to books?
How has a book impacted your life?
What do you hope to gain from this mentorship?
Applications should be submitted to info@childrensbookbank.com with the subject line Mary Ladky Teen Award. Deadline to submit is June 9.