Pennies To Purchase Books
Lynn McCormick, on left, and Donna Schiavo presenting the first $5000 for the purchase of children’s and young adult books
Sonora, CA — The Tuolumne County Public Library is asking for spare change to bring new books to area youth.
The campaign, “I Love My Library – Million Penny Challenge,” has already raised nearly $7,500 with the goal to reach one million pennies ($10,000) or more by February 28th. The funds will be used to buy children’s and young adult books for reading programs such as Summer Reading, Story Time, Born to Read, Brainy Groveland, and Children’s Literacy. The books will also be shared among the Sonora, Groveland, Tuolumne City, and Twain Harte branches along with the Bookmobile. Outreach programs such as Story Time at elementary schools throughout the County and the Book Club at Sonora Elementary School will make good use of the books as well.
Youth, Literacy, and Outreach Librarian Lynn McCormick was presented with the first $5,000 check to start ordering books to enhance the Library’s youth collection. “We want to add children’s classic literature, new popular authors, and award winning books for our reading programs in all of the branches. The selection will include a variety of subjects and books for each age group. Ordering books is one of the fun parts of my job,” McCormick exclaimed, “but the best part is watching children browse the books and pick out the ones they want to read.”
Donna Schiavo, President of Friends of the Tuolumne County Library notes that they “want to increase the community’s awareness of the Library and its resources, and generate enthusiasm for the reading programs in addition to raising money to purchase books.”
The Million Penny Challenge runs through Tuesday. So you still have several days to donate at any of the Library Branches and the Book Nooks. Additionally, look for the donation jars at over 100 local businesses in the county. For those who want to give more than spare change you can mail checks made payable to Friends of the Tuolumne County Library, P.O. Box 4988, Sonora, CA 95370. For more details contact Chrys Day at (209) 586-3974.