The Winters Friends of the Library(WFoL) campaign last May to raise funds for the stage was incredibly successful and the Project Playground Committee has done an amazing job raising the additional funds needed to rebuild the playground which will take place October 9-15, 2017.
Are we signed up to volunteer that week?
You bet we are, and we hope we will see you there, too.
Here is the sign up link so you don’t miss out on what will be an incredible experience.
Why Collaborate?
One of the unique strengths of the Winters Friends of the Library, and the Winters Community, is our belief that working together supports us all.
Then we add our creativity about how to collaborate in ways that support the missions of the participating organizations. This is vitally important in a small community like Winters that relies on volunteers to pull off numerous, incredibly professional programs and events that enrich the community.
Some people may be confused by our collaboration, but many recognize that collaboration leads to success and is a model many communities need to pursue. We recently received this email,
“At the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, we are gearing up for our annual Celebration of Generosity, a festive event for our fundholders that celebrates local philanthropy and the impact we all make through our collective work. At the event, we are hoping to share video that highlights the transformative work that Winters Friends of the Library has achieved through their incredible, amazing, stupendous Big Day of Giving efforts over the years—and, in particular, this year, when their efforts were focused on raising funds to rebuild the park, and its stage. “
Last week WFoL board members, Sally Brown and Lisa Nalbone and Co-Lead Coordinator of Project Playground Emarie VanGalio met with Vasey Coman from the Sacramento Region Community Foundation to talk about our experience and the challenges and opportunities of collaboration for organizations that rely completely on volunteers to achieve their goals.
Initially the videotaping was to be held at the library. Needs of students and patrons to access the community room led to a quick change of plans. We moved the talking and the taping to the park, fenced off and ready for the tear down to begin.
The memories, sense of gratitude for what’s been accomplished, and anticipation of what still needs to be done were almost overwhelming! The conversation was full of emotion -tears, laughter and a deep commitment to make this community better for the generations to come.
Emarie recounted working on the original park build as a child and how service was modeled by her parents, teachers, and community. She knew she wanted her children and future generations of Winters kids to have the same opportunity to play on a beautiful wooden structure, and to participate in building a park that would strengthen the community.
” The park is for everyone. We wanted to build a broad base of support. Let’s face it, there are so many needs in this community and not that many of us compared to big cities. We all need to participate. Doesn’t matter if you donated or volunteered before, or for a different community group, or your business already to contributes to ______. What makes our community special, and what we are so grateful for, is that we care for everybody, and we step up again and again.”
Sally, who doesn’t have children of her own yet volunteers with many organizations in town that serve the needs of our Winters kids, attended the first Project Playground planning event. She knew immediately that this was a great chance for WFoL to share our expertise with the Big Day of Giving to help their committee raise funds. Since WFoL has hosted 19 seasons of the Winters Shakespeare Workshop for teens on the park stage, and wants to continue to provide this opportunity for teens, she knew WFoL would want to help with their success.
Like many WFoL members, Lisa and her husband Pierre volunteered with the build back in 1989. Lisa helped with food and Pierre worked with the volunteer team that built the stage. Pierre is already signed up to volunteer his construction skills for the upcoming build.
Back then, they were new to town and already WFoL volunteers. They knew that a better park – just like a better library — would serve everyone in the community for years to come. They also hoped to meet families they’d want to know when they were ready to start a family.
Lisa said,
“I was teaching full time back then and knew play and movement are critical to learning so I brought my students to the park to perform reader’s theatre. When friends and I started a volunteer story time program at the library when our kids were toddlers, we used to walk to the park after each story time to let the kids play while we planned the next session – the theme, who would read, who could lead a craft, and who would do the publicity. Through the years my son went from playgroups to playing music for a few productions of the Winters Shakespeare Workshop. I have no trouble seeing the connection between the playground and literacy and why it makes perfect sense to work together.”
How You can Help
Something WFoL has learned from the many Big Day of Giving trainings, is that you have to let more people know about what you do, how it helps them, and how they can get involved.
Our hope that this collaboration will benefit everyone – by brining more volunteers to the build and by eventually bringing new volunteers to WFoL. Collaboration that works is a win-win.
We also want to bring together experienced and new volunteers so they can learn from each other.
Did you work on the park before? Great! Do you have kids in town? Great!
No kids, but you and your colleagues want to help? Awesome!
Do you love the library and lifelong learning? Excellent!
Do you like to play and move and meet new friends?
We have all kinds of ways to have fun and get things done.
It’s time to go from this:
To this:
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