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In this newsletter:
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Our first service learning program of 2022
The Hodgson family of five has embarked on a month-long service learning adventure with their three children just as school in Nicaragua has started it’s new year, and the Mobile Project has begun as well. The Hodgsons along with the SJDS Biblioteca staff have successfully reinitiated our story time and craft hours in the schools supported by our Mobile Project, provided story time in the main library, and assisted in delivering books and bringing crafts and stories to two of our Library in A Box recipients.
The combination of this delightful family who is eager to serve and share, and the influx of books recently acquired from our project in Cincinnati, have dusted off our hopes and dreams of reinvigorating our literacy projects throughout Nicaragua. Thank you Brandi and Arthur and Solie (12) , River (10) and Jasper Hodgson. Jasper will celebrate his 9th birthday in San Juan del Sur.
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Jasper, River and Soleil in Granada. |
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1st story hour of 2022 in Biblioteca San Juan
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Incredible Opportunity and Gift to the San Juan del Sur Biblioteca!
Months ago, Jane learned that a foreign language bookstore in Cincinnati, OH was closing after 40 years, and the owner wanted to donate the books to projects in Nicaragua. Georgia Crowell, owner of Aims International Books Inc., wanted her extensive collection of books to be put to good use.
The opportunity was at the forefront of our minds while we tried to figure out the logistics. What types of books were available? Would they be applicable to the SJDS community?
After reviewing the bookstore’s catalog, Jane decided she needed to travel to Cincinnati to explore this opportunity. While Georgia had books of all genres and for all ages, Jane was on a mission to find books in Spanish for older school kids. For the past few years, Jane has had a vision to expand our Mobile Project to reach this age group. We have not been able to extend the Mobile Project to this age group because the types of books they need are often more expensive and harder to find than those for younger children. Georgia’s catalog contained classic novels, poetry collections, chapter books, and titles that could make expanding the Mobile Project a possibility.
Just after the New Year, Jane purchased a reasonable round trip ticket to Cincinnati. She figured she would fill her three suitcases with books and maybe fill up a few more boxes to have shipped back as we have done for many years at various library conferences. Longtime volunteer Laura Piñeda accompanied Jane on the trip to help pack up the books. On the ground in Cincinnati, Joe Speier, father to Julie at the SJDS Day School, agreed to help Jane get back and forth to the bookstore. |
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 | Georgia Crowell and Jane |
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Once they arrived at the bookstore, it was clear that the collection would be of great value and would help reinvigorate the library collections in Nicaragua. There were so many books that could be used to revamp the existing Mobile Project and possibly replace over 50% of the existing collection, to provide books for older students, to refresh our satellite libraries collections, and to donate new books to some of the Library in a Box Recipient Libraries throughout the country. Jane and Laura filled three suitcases and 11 twenty-pound FEDEX boxes to be shipped back to Colorado. |
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Packing up books in Cincinnatti for the library. |
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However, Georgia’s generosity continued! She allowed us to use her UPS account to ship an additional 27 forty-pound boxes back to Colorado and paid for a rental van to use while Jane, Laura, and Joe worked on this project in Cincinnati. |
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Back on the ground in Colorado, Jane, Laura, and volunteer Nikki Mosley unpacked the 11 FEDEX boxes of new books and sorted them into groups. They prepared three suitcases of books that Jane took on her trip to Nicaragua in late January. Each suitcase contained roughly 180 books, one suitcase each for the Mobile Project, the main library, and the Library in a Box Recipient Programs. |
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 | Jane gifting Biblioteca Divino Niño, a Library In A Box Recipient Program Library, a collection of the books donated from Aims International Books. |
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Georgia has donated over 1500 pounds of quality Spanish children’s books. We will be able to give everyone the number of books we received once the 27, boxes weighing 40 pounds each that are in Jane’s garage are emptied and cataloged.
While Georgia is closing the doors to her bookstore, she is simultaneously lifting economic barriers that have kept our book projects in Nicaragua from expanding. Although we have continued our work in SJDS in the last few years, many of our projects in Nicaragua have been inactive because of the pandemic. This generous gift is the spark that will light a wildfire of opportunities for us, and we have Georgia Crowell to thank for it. Georgia has reinvigorated and strengthened our passion for the Foundation’s most basic mission: putting books in the hands of children. Georgia would like our help offering the rest of the collection to libraries and schools in Nicaragua. Part Two of this story in an upcoming newsletter will include more Cincinnati adventures and a new Wisconsin Nicaragua Partners of the Americas collaboration, and we will also share an interview with Georgia Crowell. |
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Story time at Biblioteca Divino Niño, a Library In A Box Recipient Program Library |
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First HJH Board Retreat
In January, the HJH Board hosted its first ever weekend leadership retreat! Although the rise in COVID cases canceled our plans for an in-person retreat, we were still able to carry out a virtual one! We spent the weekend discussing a few aspects of the organization we would like to focus on this year and identified the progress we would like to make in the next 2-5 years. It really brought our leadership team closer together and strengthened our vision for the future!
HJH 2021 Reflections
This January, we created a series of 12 social media posts to highlight an important event or accomplishment from each month of 2021! The posts were published to our Facebook page, and we would like to invite all of you to take a look at some of the posts and follow the page for more stories like these!
Moving Forward
These first few weeks of 2022 have just been an absolute joy. Our programs continued to function throughout the pandemic, but, at many times, it felt like we were stuck just doing what we were doing. New partnerships and ideas are flourishing all around us, and we really do feel as though new life is being brought into our projects. Jane’s recent trip to Cincinnati brought us back to the old days of attending book shows and trucking back as many books as we could carry! Welcoming back the first service learning volunteer group in over two years has brought new energy to the library. We are so thankful for our faithful donors who have continued to support our efforts in Nicaragua.
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Note From Jane:
2022 has begun for our program on several positive notes. The library and Mobile Projects have started again with caution and masks but moving ahead nicely. Classes with the 3-D Printers and an evening advanced mathematics class have begun. Six students have been awarded scholarships to universities. Many of these advances are directly related to the support many of you provided in the final months of 2021. Thank you! One of the ongoing efforts initiated at our virtual leadership retreat event was an update of our website’s donation page and a clearly outlined selection of potential ways to donate and support our programs. I encourage everyone to take a fresh look at the new donation page and see how you could participate.
We have a terrific opportunity right now to dust off our goals and wishes for advancement of our literacy project and I invite you to come along with us however you may! Happy Valentines Day!
My best wishes for a better 2022!
Jane
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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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