The day after Christmas brought droves of children and their family members to EverWonder Children’s Museum (EverWonder) to enjoy a fun day out together.

Among the excited merriment was Newtown Rotary Club President David Freedman with a larger-than-life check, ready to bestow it to EverWonder’s Executive Director Merredith Christos on the morning of December 26.

Written on the check was the amount of $1,000, to be given to EverWonder from the Newtown Rotary Club.

According to EverWonder’s Facebook page, the group is a nonprofit organization, whose mission “is to cultivate a lifelong love of learning in children by encouraging them to think, inquire, and wonder about the world around them through the use of hands-on exhibits and demonstrations.”

Newtown Rotary Club’s donation will go towards fundraising for the current $100,000 matching grant from the Jeniam Foundation. The Jeniam Foundation will double any new or expanded charitable giving, up to $100,000, applying for both gifts and/or pledges received on or before January 31, 2020.

As of December 26, a total of $51,700 had been received and is eligible to be matched. Just shy of still needing half their goal, Ms Christos said, “no amount is too small” to donate or pledge.

While fundraising efforts took place in 2019, Ms Christos said 2020 will be when they begin allocating the money, likely to create new exhibits and update current ones. The idea of creating a sensory space to help children with special needs is being discussed.

Ms Christos said the organization would love to expand from being considered a local museum to a regional destination for families.

“We are happy to support EverWonder,” Mr Freedman said on behalf of Newtown Rotary Club.

He feels the donation is a positive investment in the future of Newtown’s children, adding that his wife worked for many years in the museum industry, and he personally knows that having this type of resource available is a benefit.

Mr Freedman said that knowing the money Newtown Rotary Club is donating to EverWonder at this time will be doubled means its impact can be that much greater.

Ms Christos thanks the Newtown Rotary Club, as well as the Jeniam Foundation, for their support.

To make a tax-deductible donation or a pledge, call EverWonder Children’s Museum at 203-364-4009 or e-mail Merredith Christos at mchristos@everwondermuseum.org. For more information about EverWonder, visit everwondermuseum.org.