March 17, 2011

Spring Wish List

LEAVING YOUR DONATION AT THE LIBRARY:
Our English speaking staff member, Carlos, can answer any questions you have. Please do not hesitate to leave your donation with Carlos, whether it's a donation in kind or a cash donation. PLEASE BE SURE to sign our guest book with your name and a description of what you donated.
 

Most needed items:
--glue guns and glue sticks to use in them
--foam craft sheets
--water based paints (liter size or larger work well, we pour them into smaller dishes for kids to use)
--paint brushes, various sizes
--different colors of glitter
--other stuff for arts & crafts such as feathers, pipe cleaners, pom-poms, sequins, rhinestones or other items that can be glued, etc.
--tissue paper
--crepe paper
--stencils for drawing pictures
--large sheets of construction paper or lightweight posterboard (can be purchased locally in Playa del Carmen, they sell packs of 200 sheets at Sam's or City Club)
--Math work books for kids of all ages, preferably in Spanish if possible
--Small (individual size) whiteboards

Toys/prizes used as incentives for our reading programs and special events (such as the upcoming Dia del Nino celebration on April 30th).
Please remember: NO broken toys, NO big toys (no room in crowded homes), NO toys or games that require knowledge of English, and NO toys that need batteries (no money to replace them).

Items the kids have expressed interest in:
--bakugan toys
--transformer toys
--building blocs like legos, duplos or megablocks
--hot wheels cars
--beads for making necklaces and bracelets
--educational games/toys for small children: block sets, puzzles using colors and shapes of varying types, games that require concentration such as memory, uno, crazy 8s)
--dolls
--small purses for young teen girls
--shoes for boys & girls

School supplies that we do NOT currently need:
--erasers
--scissors
--colored pencils
--calculators
--rulers
--markers
--pens or pencils
--crayons
--scotch tape
--stickers
--chalks

We always are looking for items for our fabulously popular clothing bazaar fund-raisers: We are having bazaars every other month, so if you're coming down and looking to clean out a few closets, we'd be happy to get your gently used clothes!

Our most popular item is clothing for kids. Small or medium adult sizes also sell well. Anything XL or larger is simply too big for the locals who come to the bazaars.
Other items we sell well:
--anything for infants or youth sizes, or small adult sizes, LIGHTWEIGHT clothing, such as: shorts, t-shirts, skorts, bathing suits, camis, tank tops, flip-flops, sneakers, b-ball caps, sun hats, umbrellas, any trendy clothes - Old Navy, Children's Place, Circo, Gap... Light SHORT skirts - long ones are too long for locals.

March 9, 2011

Updated 2011 Wishlist

LEAVING YOUR DONATION AT THE LIBRARY:
We now have an English speaking staff member, Carlos, who can answer any questions you have. Please do not hesitate to leave your donation with either Carlos, whether it's a donation in kind or a cash donation. He will ask you to sign our guest book with your name, address and a description of what you donated.

We are looking for someone with computer expertise who can help us set up a small computer lab! We are happy to report we now have enough machines but we need someone who can dedicate a day or 2 to help us set up an internal network so that all the computers can print off 1 printer. Expertise is the key, but if you have some of the necessary hardware (cables, etc) that would be great too!

Current most needed items include:
--toys/prizes for our after school program, scroll down for a list of suggested items
--HP printer cartridges, the following models: hp 21 black; hp 22 tricolor
--an all-in-one printer that prints, scans and copies
--Blank sheets of colored computer printer paper, various colors
--Pocket folders (2 pocket)
--Scotch tape and/or scotch tape dispensers
--laptop locks, or a cable that would enable us to lock all our laptops together and secure them to a wall or furniture
--AA batteries
--white-out/liquid corrector

Other items needed, but not as urgently:
--packs of solid colored craft foam sheets, used for arts and crafts projects
--colored pencils
--liquid white glue such as elmer's
--water based/washable liquid paints such as crayola kids paint (liter size or larger)
--construction paper
--laminating sheets, various sizes, but especially letter size
--child safe scissors with rounded points
--3 ring binders
--Letter size clear plastic sleeves that can be used in a 3 ring binder
--Play Doh (or generic brand)-- small size cans keep longer in this climate
--Poster board, white or any color. Sam's and City Club in Playa del Carmen sell this in packs of 100-200 sheets
--Various kinds of paper to use in art projects: tissue paper, crepe paper & shiny/foil paper in assorted colors
--blank white paper (8-1/2 x 11) such as copy paper or any standard paper sold in bulk

We always need toys/prizes for our after-school reading program:
please remember, NO broken toys, NO big toys (no room in crowded homes), NO toys or games that require knowledge of English, and NO toys that need batteries (no money to replace them).
some suggested toy items:
Silly bands, bead sets for making bracelets and necklaces, backpacks, cool notebooks, binders or folders, frisbees, jump ropes, toy car sets, stuffed animals (any kind), jewelry-making sets, bracelet/necklace/bead making kits, hair accessories kits and sets, any kind of art kit (paint by number/velvet/water-color), dolls, doll clothing, anything with a superhero or cartoon character theme, building sets, kites, pog sets, airplanes, toy car kits, maze or other puzzle books (that don't require English to solve), coloring books, punchy balloon things, kids chemistry sets, or nature explorer sets, or any kind of science oriented toys, water toys: rafts, other inflatable toys, balls for playing in the ocean, snorkels, masks, balls (baseball, football, soccer, volleyball, any ball!), tote bags, or small purses/change purses for girls, puppets.
suggested items for older kids (ages 12-15): Hannah Montana items of any kind. Adolescent themed folders, notebooks, pencil cases, etc., date books/agendas, diaries, pen sets, cd cases, pencil cases, music boxes, jewelery boxes, backpacks, small USB drives for saving their homework.
-->Or ask your own kids, grandkids, nephews & nieces, they can tell you what's cool and what's not! Better yet, ask them to come along on a shopping trip and help you pick out stuff to bring, they'll love it!

Items for our fabulously popular clothing bazaar fund-raisers: We are having bazaars every other month, so if you're coming down and looking to clean out a few closets, we'd be happy to get your gently used clothes!
Our most popular item is clothing for kids. Small or medium adult sizes also sell well. Anything XL or larger is simply too big for the locals who come to the bazaars.
Other items we sell well:
--anything for infants or youth sizes, or small adult sizes, LIGHT clothing, such as: shorts, t-shirts, skorts, bathing suits, camis, tank tops, flip-flops, sneakers, b-ball caps, sun hats, umbrellas, any trendy clothes - Old Navy, Children's Place, Circo, Gap... Light SHORT skirts - long ones are too long for locals.

Items we NO LONGER need:

--staplers
--clear book covers
--Camera batteries, 2 lithium batteries, CR2, 3V
--thick or jumbo crayons

questions? email us: akumallibrary@gmail.com