Charles Watkins remembers childhood trips to CLP – Main in Oakland with his grandfather while visiting family in the 1950s. After law school at the University of Pittsburgh, he stayed in the city.  He and Betsy married in the early 1980s and soon after moving to Pittsburgh she got involved with the Library, serving as a long-standing member of the Board. For more than 20 years she was instrumental in many fundraising efforts, including the Library’s successful Libraries for LIFE Capital Campaign, which raised in excess of $58 million dollars toward system-wide capital renewal projects, and the Library’s current Realize: Our Power, Our Potential major gifts initiative.

Betsy, a retired Shady Side Academy school administrator, and Charles, an attorney, both love to read. They stress the importance of instilling a love of books and learning in children. They appreciate that the Library helps to do this—and so much more—in the Pittsburgh community.

“Today, the Library offers so many things besides books,” said Betsy. “I’m constantly impressed with the incredible programs that the Library provides, including computer training and workforce development services such as access to employment opportunities and mock interviews.”

Betsy and Charles want to help ensure that the Library and its services will be around for future generations. They arranged an estate bequest to be made to the Library through The Pittsburgh Foundation.

Gifts of all sizes are invaluable to the Library’s future. “The important thing is that it all adds up,” Betsy said. “We should never take for granted that the Library and its treasures will always be here. We have to make sure they are.”

Join the Watkins in leaving a lasting tribute that will strengthen and protect the Library today, tomorrow and beyond. Please contact Anne Lee at 412.622.6276 or donors@carnegielibrary.org for more information.