This
Thanksgiving, the Raymond Village Library kicked off its major fundraiser of
the year. What an appropriate week to ask the community for their support!
The
library’s annual appeal needs to raise $35,000 to continue to provide
our many programs and services for the community. “The library is a vital part
of the community in Raymond, serving as its community center and cultural focus,”
stated Sheila Bourque, the Library Board President. “We are community focused.
We are always looking for ways to make our community a better place to live.
This past year has once again shown that by working together, collaborating
with each other, we can create a special place.”
Under
the leadership of Library Director, Allison Griffin, the Raymond Village
Library continues to shine as they provide services to everyone in the
community. In addition to expanding their print, audio, and DVD collection, the
library has brought the Raymond Arts Alliance into its programming, adding art,
music, poetry and many other cultural events to the Raymond community. The
addition of Senior Hours every Tuesday morning offers yoga, games, reflexology,
and monthly bus trips for our senior community. This popular service has filled
a vital community need.
next to the library’s parking lot.
The “Keeping Raymond Warm” insulating window program for
our Raymond residents, a partnership between the Raymond Village Library,
Raymond Village Community Church, the United Church of Christ, and an
AmeriCorps volunteer based at Saint Joseph’s College demonstrates how neighbors
can help neighbors to keep warm and save energy.
“The
positive energy in our library makes working here a joy. Our staff and
volunteers are committed to serving the community and making Raymond a special
place to live,” said Allison Griffin, Library Director.
Raymond
Village Library continues to act as the community center for Raymond. The
library collected and distributed candy up and down Main Street for Raymond’s
annual Halloween on Main Street celebration. Over 500 children passed through
our doors on October 31! The Annual Christmas Tree lighting, sponsored by the
Raymond Lions Club and complete with cocoa, cookies, and a visit from Santa,
continues to be a highlight of the year for Raymond residents. The library’s
weekly baby and toddler story time, monthly reading time with the therapy dog
Lucy, and monthly Maker programs for kids continue to be very popular. Our
addition of a microscope DASH the robot, and additional science programming has
opened new doors for our children. Our
continuing author series and book club remain strong.
“While
our activities are fun and entertaining, we have not lost sight of the
important role we play in our community to fill some significant needs. All of our programming and investments are
done witha purpose” said Leigh Walker, Library Treasurer.
With
the successful completion of our Annual Appeal, the Raymond Village Library
hopes to add 12 staff hours to our schedule in order to provide even more
services to our community. But we can’t do it without you! Donations
from our community are what allows the library to provide so many programs and
services, and they are an important investment in a community organization
which serves people of all ages and interests.
“Very
simply, the Library needs your financial support. We need to raise $35,000 with
this appeal. Our challenges include the minimum wage increase and our goal to
provide more services for our school age children. We are committed to our
library and managing our dollars wisely. We can’t do it without you. Our
library is worth your investment,” said Paul Cullinan, Board Vice President.
You
can donate to this wonderful community resource on-line by visiting www.raymondvillagelibrary.org, dropping by the library during library hours or by mail by sending
your donation to Raymond Village Library, PO Box 297, Raymond, ME, 04071.
The Library:
- Provides community for our seniors
though our Senior Only Hours, delivering educational programs, helping forge
new friendships and eliminating potential social isolation.
- Improves literacy, science,
technology, engineering and math skills in our preschool children through early
childhood programs.
- Provides access to technology and
internet resources by updating our computers and providing laptops and Kindle
readers.
- Helps expand access to reading through
use of those same technologies to people with low vision issues.
- Builds partnerships with 4H, Raymond
Community Garden, Age Friendly Raymond and Raymond Arts Alliance to help build
a social, cultural, arts and community center.
- Expands educational opportunities by
hosting Windham/Raymond Continuing Ed classes, and hosting other arts and
literature programs.
- Promotes civil discourse but
supporting the Makeshift Coffee House and Seeds of Peace programs.
No comments:
Post a Comment