Need Another Tax Deduction?

My daughter spent yesterday surfing used textbook sites finding the cheapest prices for next semester’s books and selling last semester’s books. They even give you a free shipping label to send your old textbooks to the company. They can also send them on campus to the school bookstore. We didn’t have any of these options when I was in school. If you couldn’t find someone who had taken the same class and used the same book(and edition!)you were stuck buying a new(and expensive!)book. One semester I “shared” a book with a friend who, after paying for tuition and books in her major, didn’t have money left for luxuries like an art history book.

That semester I decided that when I was rich I would start my own scholarship foundation that paid for a student’s books for a semester. Well, I never got rich enough to start my own foundation. Who has? But that doesn’t mean I can’t support scholarship funds.

When my daughter was a high school senior we learned through the Guidance Office about many local scholarships and grants for higher education that make a big difference in local students’ lives every year. Through the Schuylkill Area Community Foundation  you or your organization can donate to local education funds as well as foundations to support the arts, the environment, volunteer programs and other funds. By contributing to an existing fund you don’t need to donate a large amount.  Even $10 or $50 can be added to an existing fund and all donations are tax deductible. I don’t know much about investing(Ok, nothing. I know nothing about investing). But I imagine that by combining all the donations they are able to invest and increase the worth of the fund in a way indivduals never could with small amounts. And yes, you can tell them which type of fund you’d like your money to go to.

Contributions from you and your neighbors can add up and truly make a difference in someone’s life. So go ahead—be a philanthropist.

Curl Up with a Good Book

I received lots of books this year for Christmas. I think someone(OK, it was me)told my kids that Waldenbooks at the Fairlane Village Mall was having a going-out-of-business sale and they could snag some books for up to 50% off the original price. I thought my days of buying books in Schuylkill County were numbered but I heard about a little known used book store. Located at 63 South Tulpehocken Street, Pine Grove, the book store is run by The Paraclete Foundation, a non-profit community organization dedicated to opening a public library in Pine Grove . Since the store depends on volunteers their hours are variable—usually on Thursday afternoons and some Fridays and Saturdays. You can check their hours by watching for the “Open” flag by the front door or calling 345-8310. They also welcome donations of your used books—no encyclopedias, magazines, textbooks, or Reader’s Digest Condensed Books please.

Rose_Hill_Cover_psd-243x339 I wonder if the Pine Grove Book Store has mysteries? I LOVE mysteries. I just stumbled across a mystery author—Pamela Grandstaff.  I think her stories take place in PA because her wacky small town characters visit Pittsburgh.  Check out the Rose Hill Mystery book trailer–a video for her first book.