Future Possibilities: Marlene Kaplan Gives Back to Her Neighborhood with a Gift in Her Will

At a young age, Marlene Kaplan knew the North End was special. She remembers celebrating feast days, eating pizza for lunch, and buying slushies on street corners. As an adult, she recalled her fondness for the North End and purchased a home in this beloved neighborhood. A few years later, she moved her accounting business to a small space on Commercial Street. “Living and working here,” she says, “I run into neighbors all the time, and I walk everywhere with my dog Hershey.”

Recently, Marlene finalized her will and considered how she could leave something to benefit the North End community. “I’m a voracious reader and currently support the Boston Public Library with an annual contribution,” she says. “Including the Boston Public Library Fund in my will, and earmarking the North End branch, was a logical way for me to extend this support into the future and give back to the neighborhood I love.”

Marlene is excited about the innovative ways the Library staff will use her gift. “I can’t anticipate what’s going to be needed at the branch in the years to come,” she says. “Maybe it will be a capital improvement or a program to feature local cookbook authors, but I trust the BPL to use my gift wisely and to consider all the possibilities.”