MOSCOW — To keep pace with exploding demand for its new programs, North Pocono Public Library is organizing a major read-a-thon fundraiser for the spring.
The 12-hour National Library Week event is the “maiden voyage” of the fledgling Friends of the North Pocono Public Library, Director Susan Jeffery said.
The group faces the challenge of helping the library raise about $500,000 to pay off a 40-year mortgage on the new, $3.2 million facility on Church Street while also helping the staff continue to grow the operation to reach the building’s full potential — which will also require funding.
Martha Andreychik, the organization’s first president, said she likes raising money for causes she cares about and recalled fundraising for her son’s basketball and baseball teams as well as St. Catherine of Siena Parish Community in Moscow.
“The library is important because, with the economy the way it is, it gives people an outlet to try new things,” the Madison Twp. resident and retired North Pocono School District reading specialist said.
From 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, area residents will read for a half hour at a time during the read-a-thon. The library is encouraging participants to line up $200 in sponsors, said intern Kayla McLain, who is promoting the event.
Reading selections can be just about anything. Recommendations include family-friendly books like Dr. Seuss works, books turned into movies like the “Harry Potter” series, classic banned books like “To Kill a Mockingbird” or popular authors like Stephen King.
The library is looking for volunteers along with corporate sponsors. The event will also include raffles and food.
The fundraising goal for the friends’ first large venture is $6,000. Proceeds will be split between helping launch a garden outside the library this spring and beefing up the library’s program offerings.
Mrs. Jeffery quantified the community’s enthusiasm for the upgraded building, which at 8,000 square feet is roughly six times larger than the operation’s former home on Van Brunt Street, and its new programs:
• North Pocono Public Library had about 54,000 people walk through its doors in 2014 — the Church Street building’s first full calendar year — compared with 30,850 visits in the Van Brunt Street operation’s final year.
• With its newfound space, the library spearheaded more than 500 programs with 7,925 attendees in 2014, a 41 percent increase in children’s programs and a 103 percent increase in adult programs.
For information, to volunteer or to donate, call the library at 570-842-4700 or visit lclshome.org/b/north-pocono-public-library.
Contact the writer:
kwind@timesshamrock.com,
@kwindTT on Twitter