UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Generally speaking, picking flowers at The Arboretum at Penn State is forbidden.
But Linda Duerr, the children’s educational programs coordinator at the Childhood’s Gate Children’s Garden, was making an exception on Aug. 4 for a very special guest — nine-year-old Maia Lindsay of State College.
Lindsay was coming to the Arboretum to make a donation — a year’s worth of allowance money.
“I wanted her to have a memento and thought it would be nice to have a bouquet of some of the flowers that were in bloom when she made her gift,” Duerr said.
When Lindsay arrived, she was greeted by a number of staffers, including Kim Steiner, the Arboretum’s director; Patrick Williams, director of development; and Duerr.
Lindsay’s donation, in the form of dollar bills and rolled coins held in a Ziploc bag, totaled $51.09.
“So have you thought of how you want us to use your money?” Williams asked Lindsay.
“I think maybe the stream,” she said, referring to the Up, Down, In and Out Creek in the children’s garden.
Her mother, Laura Simon, said, “She loves playing with the boats in the water.”
Williams told Lindsay she didn’t need to choose right away and could tell the staff whenever she decides how she wants her money spent in the children’s garden.
The idea to give part of her allowance away began two years ago, Simon explained.
“We think charity is very important for everyone to take part in and we thought it was important for Maia to get involved at a young age,” Simon said.
Each week, Lindsay receives $9. Of that, $5 goes into a savings account, $1 is devoted to charity and the remaining $3 is for her to spend as she wishes.
“Every year, I get to pick where I donate to,” Lindsay said.
As for the small difference in Lindsay’s gift, Simon said, “Somehow she must have donated the other $1.81 to a charity somewhere else.”
Last year, Lindsay’s allowance went to Pennies for Peace, a service-learning program of the Central Asia Institute, which promotes education in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan.
For Lindsay, giving to the Arboretum this year was a no-brainer. She and her mother live close by and the family was among the first to support the Arboretum. Williams said that donations like Lindsay’s are what make the Arboretum possible. Private gifts fund the maintenance, public events and growth of the Arboretum.
Simon said the family already has an idea for its next gift to the Arboretum — something to honor Simon’s late husband and Maia’s father, Bruce Lindsay, who served as a faculty member in the statistics department for 36 years before passing away in May.
But that will be a separate donation and Lindsay will have an opportunity to choose another charity next year.
“I haven’t thought of it yet," she said, "but I’ll think of something."