Tagged with " birthday"
May 12, 2014 - family, life    1 Comment

Ingrid’s Birthday Wish

Ingrid is turning 8 this month. (EIGHT? HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?!) She is a pretty lucky kid, and doesn’t want for much, and this year her birthday wish is to raise money for the Bangor Public Library, which is about to go through an extensive renovation, including a full relocation of the children’s department. It’s not an entirely unselfish wish – her goal is $1000, because that is what a person needs to donate to get their name on the donor wall. We’ve looked at other donor walls, and Ingrid is thrilled with the idea of having her name as part of the library, forever.

She loves the library – I first took her as an infant, to storytime, and while those visits stopped when I went back to work, we’ve still always loved the library. In the last year or so, that’s been an even bigger love, as she has grown as a reader at a faster pace than our home library (and our wallet) can keep up with. She’s done summer reading, and this year when they shifted after school activities to later in the day, she was able to join the Transformers and LEGO clubs, so we visit on most Wednesdays. She races off to her club meeting and I browse, and when she’s done, she looks for books for herself, and for her little sister.  This winter, when the library was robbed of money and electronics, she donated her “giving money” to the library (about $20 in ones), and she got such a positive response that she wants to do it again.

I emailed them several weeks ago to see if people could donate to her “name on the wall” fund AND get the tax deduction, and the person I talked with said “yes, of course!” and was really tickled to hear that Ingrid wanted to do this. She mentioned it to the Board of Managers and Trustees, and THEY were so excited, they have offered to match any money she donates (or is donated to her effort) up to a total of $500! (THAT made Ingrid’s day!)

Here’s what’s going out in her birthday invitations:

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Here’s what it says:

It is my birthday soon. For my birthday I would like money instead of presents. I want money because I want to support the Bangor Public Library. Giving money to the library will help build a new part of the library. I will get my name perminitly [sic] on the wall if I donate 1,000 dollars. The library is important to me because I LOVE books and the Bangor Public Library has tons, millions, trillions, really a LOT of Books.  
Thank you, 
Ingrid
If you would like to donate, you can do so here. In the “specified fund” field, you can mention “Ingrid’s Birthday” and your donation can be added to her goal. (You can also donate at the library in person, or by calling them.) The library is a nonprofit 501c3 organization, so your donation is tax deductible. If you were planning on donating to our library anyway (the new renovation will be amazing!) and NOT planning on donating enough to hit the wall level yourself, this would be a great way to make an (almost) 8 year old bookworm happy. Any gifts of money for her birthday, given directly TO her, will be donated to Bangor Public on the Wednesday following (since that’s when we go). We are pledging to reach her goal in two years, which is pretty doable, I think, especially with the generous match offer from the Board. (so by the time she’s 10, she will reach her goal. TEN? Unbelievable that that’s so close. I promise to teach her to spell awesome and permanently before that time.)
photo (14)