Jan 22, 2004

Giving back
12-year-old donates raffle winnings to Holy Spirit School Library

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

“She’s trying to make a big difference in her reading world,” says Librarian Laurie Brant.

If you were 12 years old and just won either a trip to Tahiti or $4,000 in a church raffle, which would you choose? The cash of course. It would certainly buy a lovely new wardrobe that any pre-teen girl would envy, or the latest and greatest video game technology on the market today, with plenty left over for a new library of titles.

Kelly Larson, a seventh-grade Holy Spirit student did win a raffle at St. Mary’s Church in Gilroy, and yes, she did take the money. “I felt shocked,” Larson said of winning. “I usually don’t win anything and its kind of cool that they let a kid keep that kind of money.”

But what Larson did next has left many, from Almaden to Gilroy speechless. She gave half of it away.

It is part of the Larson family tradition of giving, Kelly’s parents raised her in the same spirit—to share her good fortune with others. She decided to donate $1,000 to St. Mary’s Parish and $1,000 to the Holy Spirit school library to purchase junior high-level books.

“I’m very proud of her,” said Larson’s father Don. “As a family, we try to give as much as is comfortable and this is a good way for her to start out doing that.”

“We try to explain to her that when you’re given something, you sometimes need to give something in return,” her mother Sue added.

Larson’s contribution has already started a ripple effect at the school, as the first batch of books purchased in her name have been cataloged and readied for checkout. The books will go a long way toward filling a huge need in the fledgling library and will be enjoyed by the hundreds of students at Holy Spirit for years to come.

“I’m absolutely thrilled because the library is only a couple of years old and we’re still trying to build it,” says Librarian Laurie Brant, who admits that books for that age group are not as plentiful as others in the library. “The thousand dollars will really make a significant difference, especially in our junior high section. That’s Kelly’s age group, so she’s trying to make a big difference in her reading world.”

“I just did it because I wanted to and the school’s done a lot for me and maybe I should give back to them,” Larson said. “We go to the library once a week and there aren’t really a lot of books for us to check out. Mrs. Brant doesn’t have a lot of money to buy the books we need and she said if she could, she’d get a lot of books for the junior high kids, but they’re more expensive. I thought if she had that kind of money, we could check out better books and read more.”

Larson keeps close tabs on the purchases, checking in on a daily basis to see if any have been purchased yet. “I just got my first installment,” admitted Brant. “And I’m going to show her every single book.”

Larson lives in Morgan Hill and makes the commute each day to attend Holy Spirit
School with her father, who says he enjoys the quality one-on-one time with his children while on the road. “It’s on the way to work for me and it works out nice,” he said. “I get to talk to the kids in the morning and be a part of their lives. It’s nice as a parent to have that time with your kids when you work late at night.”

“How wonderful to have been raised with such sound values of ‘giving back’ to the community,” said Elaine Luksus, Director of Development and Community Relations.

Larson was awarded a plaque and a commendation from the school. “We want to thank her for her generous contribution,” said Principal Eileen Beck. “That amount of money will really significantly help with the middle school books.”

So what did she do with the other $2,000? Although her parents suggested that she put it in her savings account, Larson was allowed her to spend $1,000 of her winnings. She bought a digital camera, which she hopes will come in handy as she plans to run for school historian this year, but not before spending some of it on her sister, who she said, “always shares with her.”

Hazel and Armand Bolino have a daughter in sixth grade and were touched by Larson’s generosity. “I’m speechless,” she said. “I just pray as a parent to be able to follow their example—to have a seventh grader give from the heart to donate to the library.”

“To give your own child those kinds of values,” added Armand Bolino. “I mean, look at the benefit she’s going to make in the community on down the road. When she grows up, she’ll pass it on to her own kids. When someone is that generous and that giving, God opens doors.”