YOUR IMPACT
YOU MAKE AN IMPACT - THANK YOU
Dear Library Champion,
Thank you for investing in LA County Library Foundation. You make a difference!
I’m delighted to share some of the ways you’re supporting your Library, and the children, teens, and adults whose lives it makes better.
With your support, in a year marked by pandemic, as well as social, political, and economic turmoil, LA County Library continues to reimagine and innovate – offering programs and services that meet the needs of its unique communities.
One thing is clear: your Library is needed now, more than ever.
Thank you for standing with your Library Foundation to meet emergency needs and create a better future. Here's at look at our impact:
Supporting the Frontline
Like the Library, the Foundation and its donors moved quickly when COVID hit. Monoprice generously donated 13 3D printers to the Foundation that Library staff used, in a collaboration with Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, to make parts for PPE face shields to keep frontline emergency hospital workers safe.
Donors, including design firms CW Stockwell and F Schumacher, answered the Foundation's call to provide cloth and funds for librarians to sew needed face masks for disaster service workers.
Preparing a 21st Century Workforce
The Library prepares workers of all ages for 21st century employment. STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) education is a key element.
With libraries physically closed, STEAM programming went virtual. The Library Foundation and partner Edison International sponsored Make at Home.
Tweens and teens got doses of science, art, and technology. They used household materials to create projects that included: a lemon battery; shoebox pinball; a cardboard loom; a pantograph; a RobotHand, and more.
Students from low-income communities got special programming. They investigated STEAM concepts with activities that ranged from building a robot, to coding in Minecraft, to exploring Virtual Reality.
And those donated 3D printers that staff used to make face shields for emergency workers....when Library doors reopen, you’ll be able to use the printers for your own maker project and STEAM learning.
Building Literacy & Student Success
Reading matters. Strong readers get higher paying jobs. They have an easier time navigating life.
Studies show if a child isn’t reading at grade level by the end of third grade, they probably won’t graduate from high school. And from there, they’ll likely struggle economically; many will end up in the criminal justice system.
With your gift, you’re helping hook kids on reading. You’re engaging reluctant readers. You’re supporting adults who are learning to read.
Your donation adds to Library collections – with electronic and physical materials in many languages and on countless topics, including social justice, race, and cultural understanding.
This year was especially tough – for students and parents schooling from home, for older adults fighting isolation. You helped fuel excitement about Spring and Summer Discovery Program, with gift card and kindle prizes that encouraged children, teens, and adults to read, and to connect, learn, and explore.
Foundation partner Watson Land Company generously supported Homework Help and materials for children and teens at their hometown Carson Library. They also funded a circulation desk. Look for that when the newly renovated library reopens.
Telling the Library Story...With You.
The Library Foundation supports the Library – financially and by building deep and wide support within the community. You make that possible, with your donations, your stories, and your serving as a champion of the Library.
Generous individuals, the City of Malibu, and The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation provided funding to strengthen the Library Foundation and its vital work to support LA County Library and the communities it serves.
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation supported creative programming, including developing virtual LA Opera programming while physical locations are closed.
Irene, a Foundation donor like you, retired a few years ago after a successful career as a lawyer. She shared her Library story: she never forgot Maywood Cesar Chavez Library, her “home” after emigrating with her family from Iran. In celebration and as a gift to others, she made a generous donation that will furnish cozy and updated computer areas for students and job seekers in the revitalized library.
Your Library story, like Irene’s, matters. Enjoy other Library stories, and read about some of the exciting projects your support will make possible in the coming year.
Thank you for making a difference today. Thank you for building a positive future!
Andrea
Andrea Carroll
Executive Director
LA County Library Foundation
LA County Library Foundation is an exempt organization as described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Tax Identification Number: 95-3766899.