Surprise donation leads to life and death questions

By LISA CUTRONI

ELDRED, NY — Susie Felber intended for the $500 donation to the Friends of the Sunshine Hall Free Library to be a surprise. She didn’t anticipate it would be life-affirming.

“I’m just glad they are really happy about the money, and know that I’m not dead,” Felber, a copywriter for Court TV, an entertainment television network based in New York City, said.

On December 15, Felber, a second-home owner and member of the Friends of the Sunshine Hall Free Library since 2004, received a Court TV Committee Out Reach Efforts (CORE) Award, an honor issued to two Court TV employees who show exemplary volunteerism and dedication to public services outside of work.

“I was completely surprised. There were two public service awards, and I got one for the comedy shows I did for charity,” Felber said.

Felber has either organized or hosted charity events for six different groups including Operation Uplink, Art Start, On Your Feet Project, the New York Red Cross, the New York City Fire Department and the American Red Cross.

The recipients of the CORE award receive $2,000. One thousand dollars is to be used personally, and the other thousand split between two charities.

Felber donated half to the Harlem Episcopal School and half to the library.

“I worked with them and I know how great they are. Those women could run the country,” Felber said.

“I was thinking of calling the library, but I was so surprised by the award that I was shaking when I got it. So I said, ‘Let them be surprised too.’”

She didn’t imagine that her library friends would misunderstand the wording of the letter, and lead them to believe that Felber had passed away.

And, Felber said, having her Highland Lake home phone disconnected may not have helped matters.

“We recently got cell phone service there, so we didn’t see the need for an additional expense,” Felber said.

Once her library friends were informed that Felber was in good health, they couldn’t have been more pleased.

“We were amazed and delighted. We get a lot of donations, but this is by far the largest amount we have received in a single donation. It was a wonderful surprise,” Sofia Martynec, membership chairman for the friends organization, said.

For now, Martynec said, the money will remain in the library’s treasury until a proper designation is established.