Pledging $10,000 in Savings, Librarian Raises More Than $20,000 for Haiti Relief
Valdosta State librarian Cliff Landis reaches deep in his pockets--and is touched by the quick response
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 01/20/2010
- Pledges nearly all of his savings
- Response comes in just three days
- In thanks, a silent video
Cliff Landis, Technology Librarian at Valdosta State University’s (GA) Odum Library, was so upset by the devastation in Haiti that, on January 14, he decided he would raise $20,000 in earthquake relief, contributing $10,000 in matching funds through the end of February.
“I spent 
a hefty chunk of my savings on presents this last Christmas, and I don’t regret a minute of it,” he wrote. “I was planning on building my savings back up this year, but I think the folks in Haiti (and other poverty-stricken areas in the world) can use that money a lot more.”
“I’m not [a] millionaire–in fact, $10,000 is almost all of my savings,” he wrote in response to a comment. “But I figure that it will do Partners in Health a lot more good than it does me sitting in my bank account. I’m a healthy and happy person with a good job as a librarian, and I trust that with hard work, I will always have enough money. This is my way of giving back for all the blessings that I get every day!”
Just three days
It took just three days for the total to rise on his Partners in Health donation page, a process he also chronicled on Twitter.
“The generosity that I’ve seen is astounding,” he wrote. “People have donated in lieu of going o
ut for dinner. Folks who have been jobless for months have scraped together a donation.”
As of now, he’s raised $11,075 from 169 people, or an average of nearly $70/person, an effort that gained notice via DailyKos.
A thank-you videoOn January 17, Landis posted a silent video with his message on storyboards.
“I can’t really talk right now…because every time I try, I cry,” he stated, citing the devastation in Haiti and the generosity he’d seen, a response that has provided faith and hope and love and inspiration. And yes, he says, there's still an opportunity to give to Partners in Health or other charities.
