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Reading to Remember: Local Kids Honour Beloved Librarian
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Ivy (left) and Jacob (right) present Barbara Harris with the funds they raised to honour Gayle Harris’ memory.
Surrey, BC – When their beloved librarian, Gayle Harris, passed away unexpectedly earlier this year, siblings Ivy (age 8) and Jacob (age 11) Hendrickson decided to start a fundraising campaign to honour her memory. Their campaign called “Reading to Remember Gayle” had them both vowing to read for 50 hours each over the summer and collecting pledges for each hour they read to raise funds for a staff education fund set up to honour Gayle’s memory.
From an early age, these passionate readers visited Surrey Libraries - City Centre branch every week for Gayle’s storytimes and Jacob remembers the meaningful ways she let him help her during the program as he got older. This weekly routine and familiar face helped to fuel both kids’ appreciation for the library and to foster their love of reading.
“Jacob and Ivy really connected with Gayle,” said mom, Kelly Hendrickson. “She was such a strong influence in their lives and they needed a way to process her loss so we all talked about it and came up with this idea as a way to focus on something positive.”
The Gayle Harris Memorial Education fund was established by Gayle’s mother, Barbara E. Harris with an initial $100,000 donation to Surrey Libraries. The Fund will be used to provide annual grants to Surrey Libraries staff who are studying to get their Master of Library and Information Studies degree or Library Technician diploma.
“I’m so touched by Ivy and Jacob’s efforts to remember Gayle. Reading is a super way of remembering Gayle as it was such a big part of her life…she sometimes missed her stop on SkyTrain because she was so engrossed in what she was reading,” said Barbara Harris. “I'm so proud to learn of these kids, their mom, and their wonderful tribute to Gayle."
When asked what she likes best about the library, Ivy said, “I like the idea you can come here and find any book you want.” Jacob describes loving the feeling of being in the library, “You walk in and you’re completely surrounded by books.”
Ivy and Jacob met their goal and read for a total of 102 hours over the summer. That translated to a $1,200 donation from their Reading to Remember Gayle fundraiser. Visit our CanadaHelps page to donate to the Gayle Harris Memorial Education Fund.