The Winters Friends of the Library is . . . . Grateful! We received 184 gifts totaling approximately $32,000. And there’s more to come in the form of boost funds!
Despite the challenges presented when the Big Day Website crashed, our supporters persevered to make sure their donations got to us. The overwhelming response to our Big Day of Giving was proof of how important the library is to our community.
Our thanks are numerous and heartfelt. We couldn’t have carried out this campaign without the support of the schools, the business community, organizations, and individuals who believe in and love the library.
Thank you to the Winters Express for the wonderful coverage about the Winters Friends of the Library’s Big Day of Giving campaign and for printing our bookmarks.
Thank you to Berryessa Gap for going over and above by not only helping to publicize our efforts but also sponsoring a special event and being a donation center on May 3. And then donating 10% of your proceeds that night to boot!
We’d also like to thank the Winters Chamber of Commerce and the City of Winters for publicizing our campaign and actively encouraging donations.
The library is essential to the schools, and they confirmed this with their support, letting the parents know about the event through newsletters and helping to coordinate a full day of activities at the library. Thank you, Winters schools and library staff.
Our beautiful raffle basket contained numerous books written by local authors.
Thank you to authors Steve Ackley, Kris Calvin, Debra LoGuercio, Mary Hanson, Kelly Hess, Emer Martin, Catriona McPherson, Eileen Rendahl, Tamsen Schultz, and Dale Stephens for your wonderfully written contributions.
Thank you to the Sacramento Regional Foundation and the Yolo County Foundation and Placer County Foundation for collaborating to make this Big Day possible. They deserve a special thank you for creating a positive response to the unexpected events on the day and helping to build resilience in our region.
And last but not least, thank you to each and every person who donated on the Big Day.
Donations ranged from $5 to $10,000, and each one will help to expand the library support and literacy opportunities in Winters.
As an all-volunteer organization, 100% of our fundraising income goes to support the library and our WFoL sponsored programs. The Big Day of Giving is by far our largest fundraiser. In the past two years combined, we successfully raised over $52,000.
Those 2014 & 2015 Big Day of Giving funds went to:
• $20,000 for operational support to have the library open additional hours during school vacations when hours would otherwise be reduced;
• $9,123 for technology enhancement including Chrome books to be used in special classes at the library, a special tool put on the computers so students can use them during the school day, and another AWE Early Literacy Computer in the Children’s Area;
• $6,600 for program enhancement to provide high quality, fun, educational events for the community for free at the library;
• $6,000 for books and materials including EBooks and the Lucky Dog collection;
• $5,500 for replacing or cleaning broken and damaged furniture including the comfortable chairs in the magazine area and furniture in the Margaret Parsons Community Room;
and
• $5,000 for an outdoor low water learning/demonstration garden in the area outside the children’s room/family place section of the library.
With confidence that we would have a successful 2016 Big Day of Giving campaign, we have already approved a $24,970 appropriation for the Winters Community Library for:
• $8,170 for program enhancement to support free year-round and summer reading programs for all ages at the library;
• $8,500 for collection enhancement including downloadable eBooks and eAudiobooks as well as the Lucky Dog Collection;
• $3,500 to increase broadband access to 10GB to enable faster and more reliable internet access at the library;
• $3705 to purchase portable screens, computer privacy panels for the computer stations, and a 3-tier oval feature table for displays; and
• $1,095 to support two Winters dedicated slots for the California State Library’s new pilot Career Online High School program.
Thanks to your generous support, our Big Day of Giving earnings will cover our full 2016 appropriation to the library as well as provide us with the opportunity to support additional programming.
