Notes From Friends: June 2024
The Friends of SADL kick off the summer with our Free Plant Giveaway and Garden Sale Saturday, June 1 on the grounds of the Shelby Library from 9am to noon. Thank you to our volunteers for donating plants and garden tools, yard art, bird feeders and more to make this annual event a success for the community. The Friends of SADL will be wearing t-shirts with the new logo and will be assisting you at the Garden Sale. We appreciate your generous monetary donations placed in the jars at the sale. Big thanks to Stony Lake Birdhouses for donating more lovely birdhouses again this year! Thank you to Kathy Shea and Diana Clark for chairing the event! You’ll see them digging in the dirt as they select plants from the Friends Garden to distribute June 1 to eager hands.
This month I’d like to give a shout out to the state group, Friends of Michigan Libraries, of which we are dues paying members. A few years ago, we were the recipients of a $400 grant award from FOML for our work navigating covid restrictions as we sought to modify participation in our “Celebration of the Trees” fundraiser. Last year I was asked to run for FOML Board of Directors and within a few months, appointed to their Exec Board. Most recently, I have been appointed as the Social Media Manager, in other words, I now manage the FOML Facebook page. I write this not to “toot my own horn,” but to inform you about this very worthy organization that exists to support library Friends groups all over the state. Perhaps their mission statement says it best: The mission of the Friends of Michigan Libraries “is to support the activities of local Michigan libraries and to be advocates for libraries at the state level. FOML will serve as clearinghouse and information center for all Friends groups in the State of Michigan by planning meetings to exchange ideas, by supporting a newsletter to go to member groups, and by offering workshops and speakers to help advance the goals of Friends working with libraries, whether as program planners, as volunteers, as advocates of library legislation, or as a source of financial contributions and support.”
In April I attended the annual FOML Meeting in Lansing along with Julie McKeen and Janet Schultz. We were privileged to hear Debbie Mikula, executive director of Michigan Library Association, discuss how Library Friends can advocate for libraries and the right to read as challenges emerge to ban books across the country. We heard presentations from two Friends groups sharing how grants from FOML have benefited their community libraries. We met in small groups and shared ideas about fundraising, recruiting volunteers, and ways to reach out to the community. Listening to other Friends discuss their challenges and activities helped us to recognize what a dynamic organization we have right here in Shelby! We are proud volunteers of Friends of SADL!
And now the action plan! Won’t you join us?! Become a member today. Just sign up to volunteer a little or a lot and you’ll be a Friend! Contact me ([email protected]) or your library director Tiffany Haight ([email protected]) to learn more about this wonderful group, Friends of SADL.
Cindy McKinnon
President, Friends of SADL