Notes from Friends: December 2025
What a wonderful Celebration of the Holidays this year! The Friends of SADL are pleased to announce that the Silent Auction, Buy-It-Now tables, and private donations to our fundraiser,raised over $5,000! Thank you to the community for showing your support by making beautiful displays, donating Christmas decorations and artificial trees, and for bidding or purchasing items. We are especially thankful for the creative talent of Emilee Best, Mary Ann Carey, and Janet Schultz who spent many hours at the library building more than 50 displays using wreaths, sleds, trees, ornaments, ribbons, greenery, whatever donations came from the community for repurposing. Volunteers baked cookies for the public to munch on while browsing the many auction items that included a huge selection of gift baskets. Probably the one display that garnered the most comments and laughter was the “Christmas Twister,” a large upside-down tree with twisted ribbon and items that a tornado would suck up like a cow, a school bus, a barn, a dog, to name a few things decorating this tree! Many Friends of SADL and library staff helped with set up, clean up, posting signage, taping down cords, carrying tables and TV trays into the library, arranging the displays, taking money, helping bidders to pack up their winnings and cart them to their cars, and so much more. A few folks even stored donated full size Christmas trees all year until they were decorated by the crew of designers in November. Thank you all for your time, talent, and resources!
As you decorate your home this holiday season and find that you have an abundance of ornaments, wreaths, small trees, items you no longer want, the Friends appreciate you setting them aside and donating them next October toward our 2026 Celebration of the Holidays. If you are reading this newsletter before December 12, it’s not too late to enter our drawing for the collection of gorgeous holiday items on display in the hallway showcase. For a $5 donation, your name will be placed on an ornament hanging from the garland entryway and entered in the drawing. The more you donate, the greater your chance to win when we draw a name Dec. 12.
Did you miss the Celebration of the Holidays and still want to donate toward our final fundraiser of the year? We will gladly accept your end of the year donation! Checks can be made out to Friends of SADL and mailed or dropped off at the Shelby Area District Library, 189 Maple St., Shelby MI 49455. We are a 501 (c) (3) non-profit with funds used to support and enrich our Shelby Library.
Want to learn more about Friends of SADL and volunteering to support the library? Our next quarterly meeting is Thursday, December 11 at 5:00pm in person at the library. If you can’t be there but want to participate by Zoom, send your request to me at: [email protected] and I’ll send you a link. We have a few members who have gone south for the winter who will join us by Zoom! This will be our final meeting of the year and refreshments will be served.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and blessed New Year!
–Cindy McKinnon
President, Friends of Shelby Area District Library