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We did it! You did it!
Our Matching Grant goals were reached! |
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We are so deeply grateful to each and every one one of you who donated to our summer matching grant. Next to end-of-year giving, this match is our only major source of fundraising throughout the year, and it takes a village to meet our goal. We were able to raise $12,075 this year with your help.
We would also like to thank the donors who came together in the last moments of the grant and reached out to their friends and family to expand our reach and meet our goals. Your passion for our projects means the world to us and we are so lucky to have you work alongside us to support our core programs. |
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New 3D Printer Arrives in San Juan del Sur
The new Prusa 3D printer arrived with Jane in San Juan del Sur in August much to the delight of our Library computer expert, Wiston, and the rest of the library staff. The new printer is more reliable, offers good quality control, and comes highly recommended by Preston Tobery, one of our Advisory Board members and our 3D technology “guru.” Setting up the new printer came with some challenges, but thanks to an evening Zoom visit, Wiston and Preston were able to meet and successfully assemble the printer.
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Wiston sets up the new 3D printer while Preston guides him via Zoom. Marilya Castellon translates for Preston and Wiston, and staff member Deni lends a hand. |
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The Mobile Project Continues to Grow and Thrive
The Biblioteca Móvil recently added its 38th, a school in Cárdenas. The children were so excited to have the opportunity to check out books to take home to read and enjoy!
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Children checking out books at our newest Móvil location. |
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Board Members Patricia and Rosemary rode along on the mobile project with Wiston and Deni to distribute books to children in three of our mobile project schools: Talanquera, Las Marias, and El Baston. The children were eager to choose from all the new books that are now available to them. The mobile project’s collections have been reinvigorated through the incredible gift of new books from Georgia Crowell who donated thousands from her bookstore in Cincinnati.
While at one of the schools, the English teacher inquired if the library had books he could check out on teaching English as a second language (ESOL.) The library staff plans to invite the teacher to visit the main library in San Juan del Sur where he will be able to check out many ESOL titles. And while on the visit to one of the schools, the children enjoyed sharing their English language skills with one of our volunteers. |
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 | Library staff member Wiston checking out books to the students. |
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 | While there, Patricia gave the students an impromptu English lesson! They enjoyed sharing their knowledge of the language. |
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In October, a teacher from San Miguel school in the town of Cardenes reached out to the mobile project team He invited them to tour the area that had been a functioning library our San Juan del Sur Biblioteca had helped start. The school requested the mobile team’s help to revitalize their existing library and are now the 39th school the mobile project visits! San Miguel school serves older students and thanks to the Georgia Crowell’s Cincinnati bookstore donation, we have appropriate reading material for this age group. We will keep you posted on revitalizing their library as the project moves forward! |
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 | Jacob Sanchez, a teacher from San Miguel, Katia from the library,
and library volunteer Susana Field assess the existing library at the school. |
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 | Katia and Jacob review the library card system. |
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Facebook Fundraiser Appreciation:
We would like to thank our dedicated supporters who create and donate to Facebook fundraisers for our foundation. The donations made to Jane’s and volunteer librarian Pamela Martin-Diaz’s Facebook birthday fundraisers were included in our annual matching grant and we cannot thank you enough for the support.
Facebook fundraisers allow us to reach a wider group of people and maximize several smaller donations to make a large impact. If you would like to create your own fundraiser, click here to learn how. Make sure you select the Hester J. Hodgdon Libraries for all Program as your non-profit and set your goal. Fundraisers for birthdays, Giving Tuesday and more are so helpful to fund the work we do and we appreciate your help and support!
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Library Anniversary invitations are out! Can you believe we turn 22 this year?!?
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On Saturday, November 11th, 2023 we will celebrate the library’s 22nd anniversary! Our staff is working diligently to gear up for the annual celebration in the park. We are so thankful to each and every one of you who has donated to our foundation to get us this far!
Yes this invitation is for you, should you feel moved to share in this special occasion! Email Jane or Jill ([email protected]) for arrangements. |
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A Note From Jane
Several of us are traveling in early November to participate in the 22nd Anniversary celebration. The invitation above is genuinely for any of you who have a thought to share one of these awesome occasions and see the grand event in person!
I am writing this personal note, on the eve of my maternal grandmother, Hester Jane Hodgdon’s birthday. She was born on October 28,1895. Hester Jane did not have an easy life and she raised my mother, her older brother and sister on her own. At the end of the 2nd World War, when my father came home from the war, I was an infant and she came to live with us. She lived with my parents and me from the time I was a baby through my teen years. Yes, you might have noticed our HJH Foundation is named after my grandmother and some of you have heard the reason why I was moved to name the foundation for her. This note on the eve of her birthday seems like a grand opportunity to share our story.
I started first grade on my 6th birthday and within a week I contracted Whooping Cough and was critically ill in bed for over 12 weeks. I recovered, went back to school and had no trouble being promoted to 2nd grade. The simple reason missing more than 3 months of my first year at school did not hamper my education and set me back for years? Well, because of Grandma Hester you see, I could read. She filled shelves with children’s books for me from the time I was a toddler, and sent me Jack and Jill magazines in the mail. At that time in our economy, I was probably one of the first and youngest kids to have their own magazine subscriptions. She read to me daily and encouraged me to read to her and to make up my own stories which she would write down for me to share with my parents and extended family of uncles, my dad’s mother, and my Irish gran Delia O’Donovan who lived nearby…Gran merits her own story in a future newsletter note!
Grandma Hester would have me recite “alphabet letters in my soup” and other stirring poetry at dinner times. No one took notice of these things in those days or thought it was unusual, but I understand now that I was reading at a 3rd grade level when I entered 1st grade. There was no preschool or kindergarten available at our economic level in 1950.
The gift of a grandmother intent on my having every opportunity to be steeped in literacy has been a gift I treasure. Reading for pleasure, for diversion, for escape from situations and for the easy absorption of knowledge itself is a lifelong gift I have needed and made very good use of over these many years.
When the Foundation was being initiated and our articles of incorporation and by laws were written to apply for our IRS 501C3 in 2003, we needed a name. Now there are lots of articles that say one should pick a short and perky name for their non profit, but at the time, my only reference were things like the long family foundation names I would hear on NPR. It struck me that my passion for this new project had come directly from my grandmother and to name it after her would be both an honor to her and a reminder to me of my own good fortune. At the time, the Biblioteca was already 2 years old and we were growing beyond what we could do with local clients seeing the project and making small donations or bringing us books. A broader outreach was needed.
So, on this 128th anniversary of the birth of Hester Jane Hodgdon, I am happy to share with you all a bit about why we are named The Hester J. Hodgdon Libraries for All Foundation. It may also explain a bit why these endeavors to put books in the hands of all children and provide information for everyone is so dear to my heart as is the dear woman who cared so much for me and my education during my formative years. I am still eager to do the same for “all”. I hope this note also serves to convey my deep gratitude for all of the support and funding many of you have and are providing.
With profound thanks for your loving support, Jane |
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|  | Hester Jane Hodgdon and granddaughter Jane on a Sunday stroll, Dorchester MA, circa 1950. |
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We are registered as Hester J. Hodgdon Libraries for All. Please donate today with the PayPal or JustGiving buttons above OR by check made payable to:
HJH Programs
1716 Del Norte Ave.
Loveland, CO 80538 |
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