The Maricopa Public Library hosted a blood drive Friday offering contributors a unique form of compensation – library fee forgiveness.[quote_box_right]“Running to the edge for others can be stressful, but you always give where you can.” — Harold Whiting[/quote_box_right]
The unique partnership with the American Red Cross gives anyone with outstanding late fees an opportunity to have up to $25 dollars in library fines waived in exchange for a donation.
One such contributor was Harold Whiting, a 54-year-old retired Army medic who has been in Maricopa since 2012. His late fees came in at around $28 for a few movies he had forgotten to return, and though he was capable of paying the full amount in cash, he is more than happy to still be able to give back to the community.
Whiting suffers from PTSD brought on by his time serving in the Middle East, and though he struggles with certain things he never stops doing what he can to help others.
“Running to the edge for others can be stressful,” Whiting said, “but you always give where you can.”
American Red Cross employee Bradley Schubert said he’s never seen a program like this before but is pleased with the outcome.
“It’s a heck of a program. We’ve got about 10 [donations],” Schubert said. “He [Whiting] is number 11.”
After only about three hours, Schubert said, that is not a bad number.
The library will not allow customers to accumulate credit on their accounts, according to the library’s guidelines, nor will the donations cover replacement charges for lost materials.
