Circulating the hashtag #kidlitforaleppo on Twitter, children’s writers offered signed and advanced copies of their books to fans who donated to a Syrian based charity.
Many asked their followers to send screen shots of their donations for a chance to win the prizes and listed Doctors Without Borders, The White Helmets and the International Rescue Committee as charities they would like to see the money go to.
The initiative was started by authors Dana Alison Levy and Rachael Allen who say in a blog post that they were moved by recent news coverage to try and do something material to help the civilians trapped in Aleppo as well as the people working with them.
“There are some incredible and heroic groups working to save people in Aleppo, and their stories move me almost as much as the tragedies of those who are trapped,” Levy, who champions diverse stories and characters in children’s literature, writes in her post.
“I’ve donated money, given more donations as gifts in people’s names, and talked them up whenever the subject arises. But it doesn’t feel like enough.”
Five buses waiting to ferry civilians out of the region were burned by armed men on Sunday. However, according to an official from the Humanitarian Relief Foundation, hundreds of people were evacuated from rebel-held areas of Aleppo at the weekend.
