A group of Bella Vista preschoolers danced the night away in support of a local library.
Students from Beginnings Preschool presented their handmade check Friday to Santore Library for $3,283.86, which was raised through pledges after a June 17 dance-a-thon (Photo by Ashley Nguyen).
The parents of the graduating class at Beginnings Preschool wanted to teach their children an age-old lesson: It's important to give back. With kids being all about fun, the organizers used it as the foundation for its dance-a-thon to support the Charles Santore Branch of The Free Library of Philadelphia.
No one imagined a month later, after spending nearly two hours on their feet, the children would be walking down South Seventh Street carrying a check worth $3,283.86 made out to the Charles Santore Library.
"The end result is pretty impressive," said Ani Maiten, whose son Elias was in this year's graduating class at the 10th-and-Bainbridge school. "A group of 29 3 to 5 year olds can raise more than $3,000 in a matter of a month, and it didn't even take much to do."
While some of the kids didn't last the entire time, in what Santore children's librarian John Crimmins described as a "hop-a-thon," the group accomplished its goal. Each participant had to pledge for donations.
And the timing of the June 17 event, Crimmins said, "couldn't have been better."
The students presented the donation to the facility last Friday, and the moneywill be used to purchase supplies beneficial for its young visitors including a bike rack, globe and a new shelf for Spanish books. Crimmins noted some of the finds are going to be used to purchase "a small token of appreciation" for the dedicated preschoolers.
The funds from the event are arriving at a difficult time for the Free Library of Philadelphia, as its budget dropped by 20 percent -- a loss of approximately $8 million -- and it's at risk to lose further funding. The Santore branch has not been forced to succumb to emergency closings like other libraries throughout the city, but the Bella Vista community has been hard at work to ensure its nook on the corner of Seventh and Carpenter streets remains functional.
The Friends of Santore Library have been working diligently to raise awareness about its new Web site, www.santorelibrary.org, which distributes a newsletter and collects donations.
Last month, after the FX Network show "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" shot scenes at Ninth and Carpenter streets, the group stopped by Santore to drop off a check for an undisclosed amount.
"The library is a great resource for Philadelphia's kids," the show's location manager, Bill Arrowood of Third and Federal streets, said. "We want to remind people that we are from here too."
And it was the community that pulled through for the dance-a-thon.
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