Record-breaking amount brought in for charity in annual Book of Dreams fundraiser
Thank you, Stanislaus County: We asked, and you gave.
On Friday morning, representatives of five local nonprofit agencies gathered at the Stanislaus Community Foundation for the disbursement of money raised during the Book of Dreams fundraiser.
The annual holiday fundraiser, a joint effort of The Modesto Bee and the foundation, brought in more than $86,000 in 2019, a record for the effort.
Receiving donations on Friday were Jessica’s House, Cricket’s Hope, LearningQuest, Haven Youth Center and the Pathways program of the Center for Human Services. Each agency serves young people in our area in vital ways.
Each year, Community Foundation and Bee employees select a theme for the effort, foundation CEO Marian Kaanon said.
“This year, we decided it was important to focus on youth, and ... on those (organizations) that are therapeutic in their approach,” Kaanon said. “You guys are all doing phenomenal work.”
“This is one of the really fun things we get to do every year,” Bee Editor Brian Clark said of raising and giving out the money. The effort got started with a $5,000 matching grant from the Porges Family Foundation and rolled from there.
In the nearly 30 years Book of Dreams has been running, the effort has brought in more than $1 million, Clark said.
Said Karen Williams, executive director of LearningQuest: “When other people raise money for you, it’s wonderful. Because that’s something we are doing every day.”
For a list of contributors, see Page A10.
