St. Cloud, MN, February 2017: Great River Regional Library’s annual High $5 fundraising campaign will take place throughout March.
The High $5 campaign invites library supporters to donate $5 toward library services. Revenue from the campaign is split, with 50 percent used at the library where the donation was made, and 50 percent going to the regional purse. Great River Regional Library (GRRL) operates 32 libraries in Central Minnesota.
The revenue portion in the regional purse purchases books, DVDs, music CDs and other materials and technology enjoyed by the region. The portion remaining with the branches is used at their discretion.
“Many of our branches are now setting targets for High $5,” said Brandi Canter, GRRL’s lead patron services supervisor. “Our regular funding supports our budgeted activities, but there are often additional activities a branch would like to provide, and High $5 helps with that.”
1,000 Books Before Kindergarten is an example of a library program that several branches enhance through High $5 funding. It is not a core service, said Julie Henne, the library’s associate director for public relations, but its benefits are clear. A study by the American Academy of Pediatrics showed that reading daily to young children, starting in infancy, can help with language acquisition and literacy skills.
Using High $5 funding, branch libraries provide folders used to track book titles, incentives, and in some cases graduation parties. High $5 funds are also used to enhance the Summer Reading Program, to provide play activities, and even library furnishings.
Donors of $5 or more to the library’s entry-level fundraiser receive a lime green wristband imprinted with “I Am A Library Supporter.” Individuals wishing to make a High $5 donation and pick up a wristband may stop by their closest GRRL branch library during March. The library also accepts donations online at griver.org on its Support the Library page, where patrons may indicate a branch location via an Instructions/Comments line.
For more information about donating to the library, contact Julie Henne, associate director for public relations, at 320-650-2532.
Great River Regional Library (GRRL) provides library services at 32 public libraries in Benton, Morrison, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright Counties. It provides Central Minnesota residents with nearly 1 million books, CDs and DVDs, 250 public computers, programming and information services.
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