Representatives of the Dorothy Koch Family Foundation also appreciate the educational value of libraries. They recently presented a gift of $25,000 to the Wright Memorial Public Library in Oakwood.
“The library and the foundation are very appreciative to the Dorothy Koch Family Foundation for their generous support,” said Ann Marquis, president of the Wright Memorial Public Library Foundation. “With this donation, the library will be able to expand educational programs and services, improve summer reading experiences, and offer important professional development for Library staff.”
Wright Memorial Library director Kristi Hale said the beauty of the grant is the availability of funds over several years. The gift will be distributed in annual $5,000 increments over five years to support and expand education initiatives, as well as staff development.
“This gives us room to play with our programming lineup and education offerings every year for the next five years,” said Hale. “We’ll be looking for opportunities such as big events, a traveling exhibit, a really unique collection of educational materials and more opportunities for educational play in our children’s area.”
The library offers a number of services to the community that includes story hours for children, summer reading clubs, special events for children, teens, families and adults. Additionally, the library provides public access computers, a book discussion group, a public meeting room, an online learning website and informational blogs. Resources available to download: digital books, magazines, music and videos.
It takes a lot of library employees to make these things happen.
“As a small public library, we can rarely afford to send our staff to a major conference where they would have opportunities to gain fresh ideas from the best libraries in the country,” said Hale. “So this grant will have a really big impact on our ability to provide world-class and innovative library services.”
The Dorothy Koch Family Foundation honors Dorothy Kautz Koch and her lifelong commitment to education. She emphasized education while raising her four children and in her career as an elementary school teacher. Koch spent many happy hours reading to her children and grandchildren, several of whom are active Wright Library patrons.
“Although the library is funded by state and local tax dollars, there simply isn’t enough money to pay for all the programs the community wants,” said Hale. “We hope this gift will encourage others to donate to the library.”
The Wright Memorial Public Library Foundation was created in 1997 to raise funds to advance the goals, objectives and priorities of the Wright Memorial Public Library. Donations to the foundation can be made online at www.wrightlibrary.org/wright-library-foundation, or by check to the Wright Library Foundation, 1776 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood, Ohio, 45419. All donations are tax deductible; gifts of any amount are accepted.
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