13 Years of a Giving Birthday Bash- and Counting!

On May 27th, 2019, Ridge High school freshman Humphrey Chen held his annual 2019 birthday party, for the purpose of promoting the development of the multilingual books section at the Bernards Township Library. Humphrey has been sowing the seeds of knowledge in the garden for the last 13 years. Through the creation of a multilingual, multicultural book aisle, he plans to continue to inspire library-goers to expand their knowledge of the world. By giving back to the town library that has helped him, Humphrey hopes to encourage others to learn more about different countries.

When Humphrey was 3, his parents started "charity parties" with the prospect of spreading multiculturalism to children around the Basking Ridge community and introducing them to experiences around the globe. As time went on, Humphrey began to take initiative, contacting the Bernards Township library and being more ardent about the purpose of his birthday parties- giving instead of receiving. In fact, Humphrey even used his hard-earned money over summer break for the library's multilingual book section. For the last decade, they have hosted families numbering fro, 30 to 110 people, inviting a plethora of families from different socioeconomic statuses to celebrate the love of learning.

Currently, after 13 birthday parties, the bilingual section has transcended Mandarin novels. From Spanish to Arabic, the Bernards Township library has truly taken every single reader on a journey across the seas and through the arid deserts, touching the lives of peoples' stories across the world who yearn to be heard. The section is available to a large age range of readers, piquing the interest of the curious toddler who asks his mom to read a childrens' book, as well as the high school student who finds it helpful to read books in the language that he or she is studying. This area of the library has expanded to include iPads and books from over 30 different countries. A major amount of development has been made since the beginning, and the influence the multilingual section has on readers will last for an eternity.

With many more charity birthday parties in the future, the Chen family hopes to provide a multitude of opportunities for cultural exchange, Mandarin, Korean, and Japanese and English, French, Italian, and Spanish- even Hebrew books bridging a gap between East and West. When one reads a book in a different language, one completely opens oneself up to an entire world of discovery. Instead of the prospect of receiving presents every birthday, Humphrey promotes the act of giving gratitude and love. He truly wishes for other young students to follow in his footsteps of spreading kindness. To Humphrey, a birthday is truly complete with an incentive to provide for the community, a passion for spreading messages through literature, and most importantly, the radiant smiles of those who enter the portal of another universe by flipping open the very first page.