All you have to do is watch the news to feel overwhelmed by the many great needs in our community and in our world. We are asked to give so often that it is easy to begin to tune out the constant pleas. It is understandable in the face of such great need to feel that our small contributions cannot possibly make a difference. But there are those among us who have made giving a way of life, and who never doubt that they can make a difference. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to be more like them.
Carolyn Eddans was one of those people. She spent much of her life serving others, even living abroad for years to serve the people of Japan. She loved to cook, and enjoyed hosting others and sharing meals together. At the library we saw her as one of our regular Project Foodie program attendees. She also attended our free computer classes. When she attended these programs in 2012, I’m sure she heard about our financial struggles, but we had never spoken with her directly about donating. She never told us of her plans.
Carolyn passed away in July of this year. She was 68 years old. Months later I received a letter from a distant attorney, informing me that the library had been named as one of the beneficiaries on her life insurance policy. Carolyn’s gift to the library was a surprise to all of us. When I got the news, I looked up her picture (above) and saw the smile of someone who truly found joy in the giving. She didn’t see herself as powerless to impact her world – in fact, she spent her life doing just that.
Her quiet, unassuming gift to GPL will fund Project Foodie for five years, and several trees will be planted in her memory. We are grateful that Carolyn trusted us with this piece of her legacy, and hope that she would have been pleased that it will help continue some of the programs she herself enjoyed. I do wish we could have told her thank you in person, but I also suspect that she enjoyed thinking about that moment of surprise when a letter would be delivered to GPL containing news of her gift. There is no doubt her gift will make a difference. We will remember her life, her joyful smile, and her generous spirit with gratitude for years to come.
If you know where to look, we are surrounded by Carolyns. Sometimes they are working around our building as volunteers. Or they are incognito as patrons or staff who have pledged three-or-five year gifts to ensure that GPL’s community services continue. Some are even business owners who sponsor programs like storytime, or community foundation board members who grant us support for teen programs. Even in large corporations like Kohl’s or PNC there is an executive somewhere who believes in making a difference with sponsorship and community involvement. No matter where they are, no matter what they have, givers find a way.
I want to be a Carolyn. Don’t you?