Black-History Collection Gets a New Home
A California librarian’s collection of African-American artifacts—books, films, slave records, and more, much of it stored in her garage for years—will finally get a home in an old courthouse, reports The Washington Post. Mayme Clayton, who died in October at the age of 83, built her collection…
Philadelphia Library Offers Jobs to the Formerly Homeless
Hoping to keep a Philadelphia library’s bathrooms clean and free of loiterers, a nonprofit group is employing formerly homeless people as bathroom attendants, reports the Associated Press. The Free Library of Philadelphia hired Project HOME, an advocacy group for homeless people, to deal with a…
Red Cross Seeks Tsunami Aid From Thailand
The Red Cross has asked Thailand to continue providing aid to survivors of the December 2004 tsunami, and said that it should take three to five years for residents of the region to fully recover from the disaster, reports the Agence France-Presse. “The Thai government has done an excellent job in…
NY State Senator Accused of Defrauding Charities
N.Y. lawmaker accused of misspending charity funds
Philadelphia Arts Groups Race to Raise $68-Million
The race to raise $68-million by December 26 to buy a Thomas Eakins painting has forced several Philadelphia institutions to perform balancing acts, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. The painting in question, “The Gross Clinic,” is being sold by Thomas Jefferson University. The painting was…
Nonprofit Status Masks Donors Behind Lobbying Efforts
Citizens Against Government Waste, in Washington, is one of many nonprofit groups that receive significant funds from corporations and trade associations to lobby but do not have to disclose their donors’ names to the public, reports the St. Petersburg Times. The article says Citizens Against…
Education Survey Names Gates as Most Influential
An e-mail survey conducted by Editorial Projects in Education, the publisher of Education Week, voted Bill Gates the most influential person in American education in the past decade, reports Bloomberg.com. Mr. Gates has given more than $1-billion to education through his Seattle foundation. Chris…
Singer and Nobel Laureate Establish Foundation
The singer Shakira and Nobel Prize laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez, both from Colombia, have started a foundation to combat child poverty, reports the Associated Press. The foundation, named Latin America in Solidarity Action, aims to alleviate poverty, which kills 350,000 children annually in the…