Pease circle member raise the bar
The Ridgewood Public Library began as the George L. Pease Library nearly 100 years ago when the esteemed Gertrude Pease Anderson included in her will a bequest of $100,000 to build a free-standing library in loving memory of her father, and an additional $50,000 for the library maintenance. Gertrude's generosity exceeded even the expectations of her mother Julia Frances whose own will just a few years before included a contingent bequest for the Library. Thus it is only fitting that the library's planned giving society is named in tribute to this visionary and generous family.
Today’s donors are discovering that Planned Giving bequests are an attractive option for those interested in making a meaningful gift to the Ridgewood Public Library Foundation. Planned Giving provides benefactors with a lasting legacy. Major Gift donors are permanently recognized among Library founders. Financial benefits may include immediate charitable income tax deductions or a lifetime of additional income. Your gift to the Foundation strengthens the Library’s ability to remain a leading public education center serving adults and children.
Please contact The Planned Giving Committee for more information at RidgewoodLibraryFoundation@gmail.com.
PEASE CIRCLE MEMBERS
We Thank You!
Carla and Richard Fels
Carla and Richard Fels met as undergraduates at Franklin & Marshall College in an economics class. And while they thrived in the analytics and science of production, distribution, supply and demand, it’s clear that their passion for all facets of life have informed their family’s path and traditions.
John johansen
John Johansen understands the relationship of risk to reward. An entrepreneur and community volunteer who has been investing time and resources in new ventures big and small since his youth, John brings this business acumen to his commitment to the Ridgewood Public Library including, most recently, as President of the Board of Trustees.
John saraceno
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
When author Malcolm Gladwell borrowed Pygmalion playwright George Bernard Shaw’s famous words for his own treatise on the often unseen undercurrents of power struggles, David and Goliath, he wasn’t necessarily referring to John Saraceno, Jr., a longtime Gladwell fan and Ridgewood Public Library volunteer and supporter.
melanie stern
“As long as there is a good book next to me, I don’t feel lonely,” Ridgewood Public Library Foundation (RPLF) Past President Melanie Stern says with her trademark smile that holds an air of the mystery one of her favorite characters might possess. And while she is an open book when sharing her passion for the Library, Melanie’s own interesting backstory is largely untold.
Undoubtedly, the memoirs of this journalist turned oil broker turned entrepreneur—not to mention working mother, volunteer, and philanthropist extraordinaire—would be a page-turner.