Today was the goal date for getting our "Give a Kid a Book" donations over to the Spirit of Christmas Office.
I went and dropped them off and, let me tell you, it impressed me as much this year as it did last year. Piles and piles of clothes, games, puzzles, bikes, sleds, sleeping bags, snowshoes, and BOOKS. It's moving to see, really. One frazzled worker said to me as I left:
"In an economy this bad, the generosity is still OVERWHELMING.
It looked it. I was recruited to carry a bike inside before I could leave.
The Friends of the Chippewa falls Public Library donated 250 brand new books to the effort, with special thanks going to the new BAM! in Eau Claire and the book sale that took place in November at Memorial High School in Eau Claire.
Showing posts with label give a kid a book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label give a kid a book. Show all posts
Monday, December 5, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Give A Kid a book: Bins Out Now!
When you come by the library, be sure to keep your eyes open for the Give a Kid a Book Bins at the front desk. From now until just before Christmas, you can put donations of new children's books (reading level infant through high school) or children's audiobooks in the bins and we'll see to it that the Friends of the Chippewa Falls Public library forwards your donations to The Spirit of Christmas of Chippewa County.
Or, if it's easier, you can donate cash or checks to the cause. If you donate cash, just put it in an envelope labeled "Give a Kid a Book" and give it the desk staff. If you donate a check, make it out to The Friends of the Chippewa Falls Public Library with "GAKAB" in the memo line. We'll take care of the rest.
I know, I know. It's early to think about Christmas. But times are tough this year, and it takes some lead time to get this right.
DONATE!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Spirit of Christmas 2011
If you want to really do some good for an organization that serves literally thousands of needy people at holiday time, please consider giving to Spirit of Christmas of Chippewa County, Inc.
Last year the Friends of the Chippewa Falls Public Library collected books and money for the annual Give a Kid a Book drive and made sure that every package of gifts put together for the poorest children in the Chippewa Valley had a book in it.
I remember well some of the books I got for Christmas over the course of my childhood, some of which I still own and still occasionally read. But I digress.
If you haven't already identified a pet cause worthy of your Christmas charity spending, then please consider giving to the Spirit of Christmas of Chippewa County (hereafter SOC).
You can give in many different ways:
1. Gift Donations - Many people are cautious about donating cash...so SOC will accept toys, books, puzzles, games, craft items, blankets and bedding, winter hats/mittens, clothing and shoes. Unwrapped gifts are preferred! Your gifts can be dropped off a Central Lutheran Church, 28 East Columbia Street Monday--Friday 8am to 4pm.
2. Monetary Donations--Please make checks payable to:
Spirit of Christmas, PO Box 831, Chippewa falls, WI 54729
3. Gift Giving Trees--Businesses throughout the county display a tree decorated with tags that indicate commonly requested gifts. Staff and customers select tags and provide the gifts.
4. Sponsorship--Businesses or organizations may sponsor a family or families by providing gifts, non-perishable food items and/or monetary assistance.
5. Volunteers--The SOC needs help...our help! You can sit in on meetings of SOC at 6:30pm on the second Tuesday of each month here at the Chippewa Falls Public Library.
Give a Kid a Book
If you want to give a gift that has the potential to keep giving throughout a child's life, consider buying books geared at children from birth through roughly 8th grade and dropping them in the "Give a Kid a Book" gift drops that the library will be putting out some time around All Saints' Day. You can also give cash or checks written out to "Friends of the Chippewa Falls Public Library" with "GAKAB" or "Give a Kid a book" in the memo line.
For more information on SOC call the office at (715)726-0534 or President Cheryl Wirth at (715)271-0256.
Last year the Friends of the Chippewa Falls Public Library collected books and money for the annual Give a Kid a Book drive and made sure that every package of gifts put together for the poorest children in the Chippewa Valley had a book in it.
I remember well some of the books I got for Christmas over the course of my childhood, some of which I still own and still occasionally read. But I digress.
If you haven't already identified a pet cause worthy of your Christmas charity spending, then please consider giving to the Spirit of Christmas of Chippewa County (hereafter SOC).
You can give in many different ways:
1. Gift Donations - Many people are cautious about donating cash...so SOC will accept toys, books, puzzles, games, craft items, blankets and bedding, winter hats/mittens, clothing and shoes. Unwrapped gifts are preferred! Your gifts can be dropped off a Central Lutheran Church, 28 East Columbia Street Monday--Friday 8am to 4pm.
2. Monetary Donations--Please make checks payable to:
Spirit of Christmas, PO Box 831, Chippewa falls, WI 54729
3. Gift Giving Trees--Businesses throughout the county display a tree decorated with tags that indicate commonly requested gifts. Staff and customers select tags and provide the gifts.
4. Sponsorship--Businesses or organizations may sponsor a family or families by providing gifts, non-perishable food items and/or monetary assistance.
5. Volunteers--The SOC needs help...our help! You can sit in on meetings of SOC at 6:30pm on the second Tuesday of each month here at the Chippewa Falls Public Library.
Give a Kid a Book
If you want to give a gift that has the potential to keep giving throughout a child's life, consider buying books geared at children from birth through roughly 8th grade and dropping them in the "Give a Kid a Book" gift drops that the library will be putting out some time around All Saints' Day. You can also give cash or checks written out to "Friends of the Chippewa Falls Public Library" with "GAKAB" or "Give a Kid a book" in the memo line.
For more information on SOC call the office at (715)726-0534 or President Cheryl Wirth at (715)271-0256.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Letter From Carl Miller, Treasurer to the Friends of the Library
Dear Friend of the Library,
On Tuesday afternoon, I accompanied Children's Librarians Karen
and Colleen, and Library Director Darryl to Borders to select books
for our Give-A-Kid-A-Book drive...The three of them did the hard work of selecting books; I just carried the Friends checkbook. Later that day, Darryl delivered the Library's contribution of more than 200 books for kids of all ages to the Spirit of Christmas collection point.
Take a bow, member of the Friends of the Library. We kicked in about $566 of our funds to enable the Library to again have a successful campaign for kids of needy families...I hope the warm feeling of helping this worthy cause comes close to the one I had as I wrote out those checks at Borders.
A donation toward our GAKAB drive--anytime during the year--goes into the treasury earmarked specifically for this community program.
And, while I have your attention, I'd like to compare this year's GAKAB expenditure with the past couple years. In 2008 we bought $580 of books; our contribution was $540 of the total. And last year we bought $817, of which our share was about $688...
Carl, Friends Treasurer
Ed. Note: The Chippewa Falls Public Library would like to thank all who gave books and money to Give a Kid a Book in 2010. There is no gift one can give a child with more potential to improve her life than the gift of literacy. More than the simple ability to read, literacy in a larger and more important sense is the desire to read, which is what I personally hope such an effort produces in at least a few of the children who received books. Mark Twain said it best: "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over he who can't read them."
On Tuesday afternoon, I accompanied Children's Librarians Karen
and Colleen, and Library Director Darryl to Borders to select books
for our Give-A-Kid-A-Book drive...The three of them did the hard work of selecting books; I just carried the Friends checkbook. Later that day, Darryl delivered the Library's contribution of more than 200 books for kids of all ages to the Spirit of Christmas collection point.
Take a bow, member of the Friends of the Library. We kicked in about $566 of our funds to enable the Library to again have a successful campaign for kids of needy families...I hope the warm feeling of helping this worthy cause comes close to the one I had as I wrote out those checks at Borders.
A donation toward our GAKAB drive--anytime during the year--goes into the treasury earmarked specifically for this community program.
And, while I have your attention, I'd like to compare this year's GAKAB expenditure with the past couple years. In 2008 we bought $580 of books; our contribution was $540 of the total. And last year we bought $817, of which our share was about $688...
Carl, Friends Treasurer
Ed. Note: The Chippewa Falls Public Library would like to thank all who gave books and money to Give a Kid a Book in 2010. There is no gift one can give a child with more potential to improve her life than the gift of literacy. More than the simple ability to read, literacy in a larger and more important sense is the desire to read, which is what I personally hope such an effort produces in at least a few of the children who received books. Mark Twain said it best: "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over he who can't read them."
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
FYI...
1. Herb Kohl's Regional Representative Coming December 20th
U.S. Senator Herb Kohl’s Regional Representative, Marjorie Bunce, will be in Chippewa Falls on Monday, Dec. 20th to meet with constituents from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Chippewa Falls Public Library, 105 W, Central Street, in the Large Meeting Room. No appointment is necessary.
"If you are having a problem with a federal program or agency, or have an opinion on an issue before Congress, please let me know by meeting with my Regional Representative, Marjorie Bunce,” Kohl said.
Ms. Bunce can also be contacted at Kohl’s regional office at 402 Graham Ave., Suite 206, in Eau Claire, WI 54701. The telephone number is (715) 832-8424.
2. Christmas Parade
The library's float in the Chippewa Falls Christmas Parade was well-received. I was given helpful tips along the way, as I played the role of driver. People instructed me to:
a) Wave
b) Smile bigger
c) Honk!
d) Put the truck I was driving in first and give it no gas,
e) Turn up the radio.
Next year, I will know from the get-go exactly what is expected of a float driver. That's assuming we put a float in the parade next year. Anyway, kudos to the library staff for giving their own time, money and creativity to come up with a design and make it a reality.
3. Give a Kid a Book
I just returned from Border's Books #138 in Eau Claire where I helped the Friends of the Library buy over 150 books to give away as part of Give A Kid a Book. Children's Librarian Colleen Crowley and Children's Library Assistant Karen Tregoning lent their expert hands, as well. The books we bought today, when added to the books and money donated here at the library, will mean that scores of kids in our area will be opening books as well as gifts on Christmas morning.
4. Remember Pearl Harbor
A few years ago, while hosting a monthly forum for World War Two veterans, I was told by one man in the audience that it pained him, as a veteran of the Battle of Wake Island, that Pearl Harbor and the sneak attack thereupon on December 7, 1941 were fading from public memory, especially since 9/11.
If you know a veteran of World War Two, thank him (or perhaps her) today.
U.S. Senator Herb Kohl’s Regional Representative, Marjorie Bunce, will be in Chippewa Falls on Monday, Dec. 20th to meet with constituents from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Chippewa Falls Public Library, 105 W, Central Street, in the Large Meeting Room. No appointment is necessary.
"If you are having a problem with a federal program or agency, or have an opinion on an issue before Congress, please let me know by meeting with my Regional Representative, Marjorie Bunce,” Kohl said.
Ms. Bunce can also be contacted at Kohl’s regional office at 402 Graham Ave., Suite 206, in Eau Claire, WI 54701. The telephone number is (715) 832-8424.
2. Christmas Parade
The library's float in the Chippewa Falls Christmas Parade was well-received. I was given helpful tips along the way, as I played the role of driver. People instructed me to:
a) Wave
b) Smile bigger
c) Honk!
d) Put the truck I was driving in first and give it no gas,
e) Turn up the radio.
Next year, I will know from the get-go exactly what is expected of a float driver. That's assuming we put a float in the parade next year. Anyway, kudos to the library staff for giving their own time, money and creativity to come up with a design and make it a reality.
3. Give a Kid a Book
I just returned from Border's Books #138 in Eau Claire where I helped the Friends of the Library buy over 150 books to give away as part of Give A Kid a Book. Children's Librarian Colleen Crowley and Children's Library Assistant Karen Tregoning lent their expert hands, as well. The books we bought today, when added to the books and money donated here at the library, will mean that scores of kids in our area will be opening books as well as gifts on Christmas morning.
4. Remember Pearl Harbor
A few years ago, while hosting a monthly forum for World War Two veterans, I was told by one man in the audience that it pained him, as a veteran of the Battle of Wake Island, that Pearl Harbor and the sneak attack thereupon on December 7, 1941 were fading from public memory, especially since 9/11.
If you know a veteran of World War Two, thank him (or perhaps her) today.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Press Release: Give a Kid a Book 2010
This is the press release I sent out just a little while ago. I hope my thousands of loyal readers will feel free to forward the information to whomever they feel might be willing to take part.
“Give A Kid A Book,” as the effort is called, gives the public the opportunity to give the gift of reading to the children and families served by The Spirit of Christmas of Chippewa County, a gift-giving program for low-income families in and around Chippewa County.
Sandy Harberts of the Spirit of Christmas of Chippewa County says that the organization makes it a point to include books in every bag of gifts they put together and that donations of books in the past have been very helpful to their efforts.
Until December 3rd, the Chippewa Falls Public Library will be a drop-off point for new books and donations of money meant to purchase new books. Checks should be made out to “Friends of the Chippewa Falls Public Library” with the words “Give a Kid a Book” in the memo line. Cash should be placed in an envelope with those same words on the outside.
"It might not be obvious to make sure books are included in a bundle of Christmas presents for children or teens," says Darryl Eschete, Director of the Chippewa Falls Public Library. "Toys or electronics usually come to mind first. But books serve children in important ways that other gifts simply can’t.”
“I think it’s one of the nicest things the library could do,” says Carl Miller, Treasurer of the Friends of the Chippewa Falls Public Library. “A kid can’t have too many books.”
Those wishing to mail donations should send the donations to:
Chippewa Falls Public Library
ATTN: Carl Miller
105 W. Central St.
Chippewa Falls, WI 54729
###
Chippewa Falls Public Library Announces “Give A Kid A Book” 2010
“Give A Kid A Book,” as the effort is called, gives the public the opportunity to give the gift of reading to the children and families served by The Spirit of Christmas of Chippewa County, a gift-giving program for low-income families in and around Chippewa County.
Sandy Harberts of the Spirit of Christmas of Chippewa County says that the organization makes it a point to include books in every bag of gifts they put together and that donations of books in the past have been very helpful to their efforts.
Until December 3rd, the Chippewa Falls Public Library will be a drop-off point for new books and donations of money meant to purchase new books. Checks should be made out to “Friends of the Chippewa Falls Public Library” with the words “Give a Kid a Book” in the memo line. Cash should be placed in an envelope with those same words on the outside.
"It might not be obvious to make sure books are included in a bundle of Christmas presents for children or teens," says Darryl Eschete, Director of the Chippewa Falls Public Library. "Toys or electronics usually come to mind first. But books serve children in important ways that other gifts simply can’t.”
“I think it’s one of the nicest things the library could do,” says Carl Miller, Treasurer of the Friends of the Chippewa Falls Public Library. “A kid can’t have too many books.”
Those wishing to mail donations should send the donations to:
Chippewa Falls Public Library
ATTN: Carl Miller
105 W. Central St.
Chippewa Falls, WI 54729
###
Monday, October 4, 2010
Food for Fines Follow Through
"The charity that is a trifle to us can be precious to others."--Homer
Above you see just a portion of the food collected here at the library during the Food for Fines program in September. Just a while ago, I delivered said food to the Salvation Army Food Pantry at 521 N. Bridge Street here in Chippewa Falls. According to pantry coordinator Sally Hegg, the service sees about 30 people a day come through and it has been tough lately keeping food on the shelves.
Donations are always welcome, according to Ms. Hegg, and donations and contributions are tax deductible. The pantry's workers will be glad to give those who donate a receipt if they want one. Those who use the service must verify income & need. For more information, email Sally or call her at 715-726-9506 ext. 3.
The library will do Food for Fines again in the future and I urge you to watch this space for information on the upcoming "Give a Kid a Book" program, a coordinated effort of the Chippewa Falls Public Library, the Friends of the Chippewa Falls Public Library and The Spirit of Christmas of Chippewa County. During the Christmas season, we cooperate to include donated reading materials in gift packages put together for needy local families. The library will make donation boxes available for those patrons who want to make sure Santa includes a few new children's books under the tree.
For those who gave, THANK YOU! And we hope all our patrons continue to seek out opportunities to help local charities.
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