Recognizing a Legacy of Giving Back
Steve and Sue Kaplan, left, with Laurie Flynn, executive director of Link to Libraries, and John Doleva, president and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame, a strong supporter of the agency.
As she talked about Steve Kaplan and his many contributions to the nonprofit Link to Libraries, Laurie Flynn, the agency’s executive director, didn’t start with his service on the board, his lengthy stint as treasurer, or even his role as quiet, behind-the-scenes co-founder with his wife, Susan Jaye Kaplan.
No, she started by talking about the manner in which Kaplan, who passed away in January after a lengthy battle with brain cancer, adopted, for lack of a better word, the Kensington International School in Springfield — because, in many ways, that says even more about him.
“He started off as a volunteer reader,” she recalled, noting that the nonprofit helps place such readers in schools across the region to help encourage young people to read. “And he turned it into so much more; it became near and dear to him. He tutored there, he did all kinds of things, and he did it without asking for a spotlight … he just quietly gave and gave and gave.
“He always joked that he was “Mr. Susan Jaye Kaplan,” Flynn went on. “But he was a force in his own right; it was just different energy.”
It was that above-and-beyond approach at the Kensington School, and the varying forms of energy displayed by both Kaplans that helped inspire Flynn to create a legacy fund in both their names to help continue and even expand LTL’s service to the young people in the region.
Susan Jaye Kaplan, as most now know, co-founded not only LTL but also the nonprofit GoFIT. She was honored for her work with BusinessWest’s Difference Maker award in 2009.
“When Steve passed in January, I thought it was an important time to honor his work and Sue’s work, and their work as a couple in Western Mass.”
“When Steve passed in January, I thought it was an important time to honor his work and Sue’s work, and their work as a couple in Western Mass.,” she told BusinessWest. “They’ve done so much, not just for Link to Libraries, but we’re a huge piece of their legacy. It seemed to me that … when you look at the two of them, and how much they gave, not just through the schools, but through community partnerships, it seems like a great opportunity, a great way to honor their legacy, to have something that is permanently part of Link to Libraries, that is dedicated to doing more than we’re doing now.”
Elaborating, Flynn said the Stephen Kaplan & Susan Jaye Kaplan Community Legacy Fund, which was formally announced at LTL’s biennial fund-raising ball at the Basketball Hall of Fame, will enable the nonprofit to extend its reach, and impact.
“While most of Link to Libraries’ work is done through underserved elementary schools, we frequently receive requests from other local nonprofits for book donations to support their own work with children and families in need,” she explained. “We do our very best to say ‘yes’ to every book request we get, but we have limited funds, limited ability to do that.
“By creating this fund and having this cache of money set aside to support our community partners, who are serving the same kids and families that we are, that will enable our reach to expand,” she went on, adding that that the legacy fund will be a permanent fixture at LTL.
Flynn said there is no specific goal for the fund, adding that whatever is raised — and she is expecting support from individuals and businesses alike — will enable LTL to support more groups serving children and families, such as the Salvation Army, the Springfield Museums, and countless others.
“Steve’s passing was a terrible loss to our Link to Libraries family, to the Western Massachusetts community, and to all who knew and loved him,” said Flynn. “We hope that this tribute will be a living reminder of Sue and Steve’s tireless work and passion for improving the lives of others.”
For more information on the legacy fund, visit linktolibraries.org.
— George O’Brien
