When asked if she found a book she would like to read in the Kids Need to Read shipment, Jessica said, “I found an entire series.”

Dear Roberta,

My name is Denise Gary and I am the Executive Director of Kids Need to Read.  You should be receiving our shipment of books soon.  I would like to take a moment to explain a bit more about the donation our foundation is providing to Girls Incorporated of Omaha, as it has a unique back story.  There is an international fundraiser conducted every year to raise money for Equality Now, an organization dedicated to ending violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world.  Fans of writer/director Joss Whedon conduct this fundraiser, which is named Can’t Stop the Serenity.  A small number of local groups donate a portion of their proceeds to Kids Need to Read, as well.

Much of the money raised in this effort comes from special screenings of the movie, Serenity.  Other funds are raised through auctions, raffles, and sales of merchandise.  To show our appreciation, Kids Need to Read pledged a $500 book donation as a prize in the global, online prize drawing.   The winner would be allowed to choose the recipient of the donation, and the donation would then be made in the the winner’s honor.
 
Jennifer Thursfield, a citizen of England, won the Kids Need to Read prize.  I was amazed by her giving spirit, as she was incredibly excited about her “prize.”  I had been concerned that the winner of our offering would feel cheated out of a physical prize.  Jennifer could not have been more thrilled about her prize and took the donation recipient selection process very seriously.  Since Equality Now deals with issues regarding women and girls, I presented your organization to Jennifer as a possible recipient of her gift.  She agreed that Girls Incorporated of Omaha was the perfect choice.  So as you can see, Jennifer Thursfield is entirely responsible for the gift of books your organization is receiving.

Because several local Can’t Stop the Serenity groups were very generous to Kids Need to Read, we decided to increase the value of the gift from $500 to $1,000 in books.  The final value will be much higher once we include the Highlights magazines and subscriptions that we would like to add to the donation.

Many of the children Kids Need to Read serve have few positive influences in their lives.  We use our books to help create a culture of reading for them, so that they can experience positive values and role models within the gifts we provide.  Our books contain messages of hope, courage, compassion, kindness, friendship, love, tolerance and perseverance, among others.  It is our hope that Girls Incorporated of Omaha will use our books to help the girls you serve understand that they live in a world without limits.

Most sincerely,

Denise

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Denise Gary
Executive Director
Kids Need to Read
www.kidsneedtoread.org