Thanks for all the Christmas Gifts

Even with a bigger than expected turnout, we still had plenty of gifts so that no one went home empty handed. Thank you to all who generously thought ahead & sent or brought down presents!

Gently used clothing needed

For all of you who have closets full of hand-me-downs waiting for someone to give them to....HB is asking for donations of gently used clothes for children and teens.

Gifts for the annual HB Holiday Party

Wow! you must all be planners as it's not even Halloween and we already have folks asking about what they can donate for our annual Christmas Party, scheduled for Thursday, December 21.

Here's a list of girls and boys favorite picks, from Maggie & Carlos.

We already have many items appropriate as gifts for the younger kids, but need some more for the older ones:
backpacks
watches (for children--boys & girls-- nothing too fancy please)
sandals (youth sizes)
bandanas
bracelets
necklaces
light perfume
hair accessories (barettes, clips, etc)
English language t-shirts
yo-yo's
small handbags
sunglasses
baseball caps
any kind of doll that can be dressed up (has a change of clothing)
all the SuperHero stuff (Spiderman is a favorite)
Dinosaurs are also still a popular choice

Back to school-- things we need & don't

hello from Hekab Be. It's early fall, though it still feels like summer around here...it's quiet and the visitors are few, but kids are back to school and in need of materials nonetheless...

Here's our latest wish list (please also scroll down to the bottom for items that we currently do *not* need)

for the kids--
Pocket Folders
Markers
Spiral notebooks
zippered pencil bags
coloring books (bilingual would be great)
small dolls
matchbox cars
hair things
jewelry - especially beaded bracelets (the girls are all gaga over these)
any individually wrapped toy

for the library--
plastic storage tubs
paint (exterior/interior) - can be bought locally
cleaning supplies (contact Maggie for details, best place to get these is at Sam's/Costco in bulk)
**a PLUMBER - someone with plumbing skills to help us get a pipe from the water source to the toilet. And material (pipes, etc) for when a plumber is found.

Computers (please nothing more than 2-3 years old. preferably running Win XP)
Educational DVD's and kid/family classics in Spanish
Wooden Chairs/plastic chairs
Area rugs - 1) for children's room with numbers/alphabet 1) solid or print for adult reading area

books--
ADULT FICTION IN SPANISH - GRISHAM, GRAFTON, KING,PATTERSON, COELHO, SARAMAGO, GARCIA MARQUEZ (less well known titles- we already have the more common ones)
ANY CONTEMPORARY LATINO FICTION.
We still need a copy of "Mammals of the Yucatan" - we have it on DVD but would like to have the book in both Eng. and Span.
A Mental Health book or any psychiatry/psychology books for both teens and adults in Spanish
A Spanish-Italian dictionary

Things we don't currently need:
printer paper
colored paper
crayons

Questions? contact Maggie: Maggiemk@aol.com

When you wish upon a star.....

Our most recent experience of raising enough money for the roof, with the help of many library friends, has helped us see that sometimes it does pay to wish big!!!

So you say, now that we are on our way to getting a new roof, what else could we possibly need?

Well the truth is the roof is just the beginning. Many other items will be needed to make those new spaces operational. Here is a list put together by Maggie:

We need screens for 7 windows and the front door. We need new doors on the 2 outbuildings. We need wooden shutters for 6 windows, wood to build a long desk & bookshelves, about 20 chairs (we could do plastic). One of the rooms we will turn into a classroom - the one with the bathroom - we need a door for the bathroom - we need 2 chalk boards (or dry erase) - we need to connect the outbuildings up to the electricity, and with electricity, we need at least 2 ceiling fans.

All these materials are available locally, and we don't recommend trying to bring them down. But on your next trip maybe you want to visit a Mexican lumber yard or hardware store? Or send a donation to Alice (details below) and specify what you'd like to donate, we'll make it happen!

Eventually we will need to repaint the newly roofed rooms, and will need help getting it all in order. those with carpentry skills could help build tables, bookshelves, doors, and ?? Let us know if you want to come get your hands dirty with HB.

Looking for something smaller to bring down? keep reading below for a list of packable items.

Current wishes

Please help with donations in dollars (or pesos) if you can!! We are still hurting to get things back in order in the aftermath of hurricane Wilma, including no electricity. But the good news is that the electricity should be restored TODAY!!!! This will be the first time since July and we are all VERY happy about this.

If you are visiting near Akumal, just stop by and give your donation in pesos, U.S. dollars, or a U.S. check made out to Hekab Be Biblioteca.

If you are not going down soon, you can mail a U.S. check made out to "Hekab Be Biblioteca" to me, a library friend in Arizona.

Alice Gartell
906 W. 14th St.
Tempe, Az 85281

I will make sure that your checks are used directly by the library to help our amigos in Akumal.

The library also always needs

SCHOOL SUPPLIES:

Students in the public primary school must provide their own school supplies. For some families, this is no problem, but for others it is a great hardship. Children can earn all or almost all of their school supplies when ou donate them and the children "buy" them with points earned by reading and other educational activities. The required school supplies are:

notebooks (preferably wire bound and 100 lined pages)
pens (blue or black)
colored pencils
erasers
crayons
scissors (both child's scissors for the little guys and adult scissors for older children)
highlighters (yellow)
pocket folders
Spanish academic dictionary (for the older children)


LITTLE TOYS, GAMES AND PRIZES

The children also "buy" little trinkets with their points earned by reading and writing activities. They especially like:
hair barrettes and ornaments
balls (any kind, but especially soccer balls plus an air pump if possible)
matchbox cars
little super heros
toys that come with fast food meals
coloring books
little animals, especially dinosaurs
bean bag type toys
beach toys, balls, goggles, etc. ,
any simple games that don't require English, such as dominos, jenga, or a memory game
jump ropes
legos
yoyos
baby dolls (dark hair preferred)
markers (ezerace for the library and regular for the kids)

Please do NOT bring toys that are broken, that need batteries (no money to replace them) and no toys or games that require English.

Library Supplies

The library can always use all kinds of supplies for the children's activities. Remember, the library buys NOTHING. If you don't bring it, they don't have it. The library can always use:

markers (ezerace and regular)
paintbrushes (watercolor)
paints (tempra preferred)
any kind of paper, (especially construction paper for crafts)
tape (transparent. masking and duct tape)

Gently used kids clothing, (hand me downs from your own children)-- we did really well on our last clothing bazaar and plan to continue doing them on a bi-monthly basis.
Please nothing with batteries, nothing broken, and nothing that requires English to use.

Please do not bring down children's books in English, give them to a charity in the states. A few tourist and expat children read them, but more really are not needed, we are currently bursting out of our space!! in time, if we can expand our space we could operate a separate collection room with English books, but for now that's just daydreaming!

If you have questions, you can e-mail Alice at: gartell@aol.com or Maggie at: Maggiemk@aol.com.

Muchas gracias.