It’s spring, and that means it’s time for GiveLopez again! GiveLopez is a collaborative spring fundraiser benefiting seven Lopez nonprofits. If that’s all you need to know, hop on over to www.givelopez.org to contribute. If you want to know more about what we’ve got planned for this year, read on…
We know that everyone has their own reasons for giving, so we have two projects on the docket this year – one focused on the SHARING aspect of our mission, and the other on PRESERVING.
SHARING: The first, some might say “more exciting,” project is contributing Lopez history content to www.islandhistories.com. A project dreamed up by Larry Cebula, a professor of public history at Eastern Washington University, this website is INTENDED to be used while you are out exploring the islands. We will develop short histories of points of interest around Lopez – this could be a walking tour of the village (check out the tour of Eastsound on the website), or key places across the island, from the Kelp Plant that stood at Port Stanley, to the canneries and store at Richardson. Our goal for this project is $5000. The money you contribute toward this will help fund our Research Assistant, Breton Carter, to research and write these pieces. Breton has become an integral part of the team here, sharing social media duties, answering research questions from the public, and assisting Collection Manager Ginger Lowell with getting our catalog ready to move to the new system. We’re looking forward to seeing her many talents put to use on this new project – and we strongly believe that if we want to keep our vibrant young people on the island, we need to actively participate in helping them create interesting and fulfilling work.
PRESERVING: The second project is a little more prosaic – our artifact storage building on the grounds of the Port Stanley Schoolhouse needs a porch roof to protect the door from rain and swallow droppings during nesting season. As it currently is, it’s hard to access the storage building during the summer because the door gets covered in bird droppings. Between that and rain, the bottom of the door has begun to warp and rot. We estimate a cost of $5000, but are hoping to reduce that with volunteer labor, as we did with the windows last year. (Super-board-members Paul Henriksen, Terry Larson, and Jack Pedigo saved us thousands of dollars, which will go toward the interior window work scheduled for next year.) Any funds left over will go toward other facilities needs, such as new doors for the museum.
As always, we are grateful for the support of this community, near and far. Many of our supporters have Lopez addresses, and many others have ties to us via their heartstrings and family history. We value and appreciate you all. Lopez history is unique and special to the hearts of many. The board, staff, and I all consider ourselves privileged that we get to work for and with you, protecting, collecting, and sharing that history.
If you’re ready to give, you know what to do. If you have questions, please feel free to get in touch. Thanks for considering our request, and we would encourage you to also consider donating to the other important organizations. As we’ve heard so many times in the past twelve months, we really are all in this together.
Sincerely,
Amy, Breton, Ginger, and The Board
