Remember the Libraries in this Season of Giving

In this season of giving, we should strive to recognize and support organizations that constantly give to our community. The Library Foundation for the Multnomah County Library is one such nonprofit that has been working to provide a opportunities to improve literacy while developing a programs to aid our local library system.

As the Library Foundation announces on their website, they are currently:

• Supporting teachers at a time when many school libraries are on the wane.
• Inspiring students in our lowest performing schools through rousing “booktalks” and exciting books that they can take home and read.
• Reaching vast numbers of children, through Summer Reading, at the time when low performing students are most likely to fall further behind.
• Bringing books and reading into the homes of children at-risk for low literacy with the award-winning Raising a Reader program.
• Reaching first-time parents with books, instructional tools on brain development and incentives that encourage them to visit the library with their new babies.

Libraries are particularly important in these periods of economic hardship. They provide a place for the unemployed to access the Internet. Families can enjoy both free educational opportunities and many events focusing on arts and culture. Libraries also offer a warm place for anyone to sit and read a book.

You can donate through the Willamette Week's Give!Guide, where you can also give to 78 other local nonprofits, or you can donate directly to the Library Foundation through their online donation system.

If you are interested in the impact of your donation, or if you would like to donate through other means, please read more information provided by the Library Foundation. As the season grows colder, stop by your local library to see what they have to offer, to warm up with a book.