Friends of the Fort Erie Public Library launch monthly newsletter

The volunteer group that has given more than $100,000 to Fort Erie’s library branches has published its first monthly newsletter, a new effort to recruit members and collect donations ahead of its October 3 fall used book sale.

The Friends of the Fort Erie Public Library released the inaugural August issue this month. The newsletter promises monthly updates on fundraisers, volunteer opportunities and the group’s support for the library system, and it opens with an appeal for used books and helping hands.

The group is asking for gently used books, DVDs and CDs for the sale. Donors can drop items off at the Crystal Ridge branch at 89 Ridge Road South in Ridgeway on Tuesdays between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The Friends will not accept textbooks, encyclopedias, travel guides or items in poor condition.

The August newsletter also asks for volunteers to help at two upcoming events in Crystal Beach, the Waterfront Supper Market on August 20 and the End of Summer Parade on September 5.

The Friends began with small grassroots fundraisers in 2013 and earned official Friends of the Library status a year later.

Hotdog sales, spaghetti dinners, art auctions and a golf tournament grew into a fundraising operation that has supported the Centennial, Stevensville and Crystal Ridge branches for more than a decade.

“It’s come a long way from flipping burgers and running back into the Sobeys for more buns,” founding member Sandy McDermott told Fort Erie Radio in March, when she and vice-president Lynne Kumagai received the group’s annual volunteer recognition award.

The group’s donations pay for equipment, collections and programs beyond the library’s municipal operating budget.

Anyone interested in receiving the newsletter can reach the group at friendsoftheforterielibrary@gmail.com.

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