Hello, Books!

Happy Monday everyone!  

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, Matt and I were back in Omaha/Lincoln this weekend.  It was a quick trip, but we managed to get quite a bit accomplished.  We saw family (briefly), hung out with friends, looked at a couple of rental properties and visited our lot (which looks like a neglected overgrown mess- EEK!).  Overall it was a pretty productive weekend for a 24 hour turn around time!

When we got back to Sioux Falls yesterday afternoon we were greeted by a STACK of boxes on our front door step - each box containing donations for Books for Charley.  As I opened all of the packages and put stickers on their contents, I started thinking that I should probably do another numbers update.  While I know that its not the actual NUMBER that matters, its still fun to be able to quantify just how many books we'll be sharing with those kiddos later this summer.

As of Sunday, May 20 we have 444 books stickered up and ready to go - thats over 100 books more than we had just one week ago!   In addition to that we received over $500 in donations that will be used for a MASSIVE book shopping spree at the end of the month.  Holy cow people!  You blow me away!  In the beginning I was worried that people might not have the same enthusiasm about this event the second time around, but you are most definitely proving me wrong.  Thank you a million times over!!

I have gotten a few messages/updates from Aly, Claire and Mason's families as well and it sounds like collections are going strong.  I'll try to share more about these individual donations as Books for Charley wraps up at the end of the month.

Time seems to be moving very quickly these days, but there is still time to donate if you are interested.  Just in case you missed it the first time...

How to Donate:

 Local drop-offs:  Please email us at charleysheart@gmail.com if you would like to coordinate a drop-off in the Omaha or Sioux Falls area.  For those of you who know any of my family members, you can reach out to them as well!

Harlan, IA drop-offs:  If you live in the Harlan area and would like to make a donation, my aunt has graciously offered to help with collections again this year.  Please contact her if you would like to coordinate a drop off.  I didn't want to include her personal info here on the blog so you can either email the address above and I'll get back to you, or look her up in the phone book (Jim and Jan Goeser).

Mailed donations:  Last year we had books come in from all over the country!  If you would like to send your donation through the mail, please use the address listed below.

Charley's Heart
7604 S. Hughes Avenue
Sioux Falls, SD 57108

PayPal:  Go to the Charley's Heart homepage and click on the "Donate Now" button on the right hand side of the screen.  From there it will guide you through the donation process.