by Beth Cronk, Meeker County Librarian
As the summer winds down, I would like to take the
opportunity to thank the local businesses and organizations that helped support
the summer reading program in the libraries in Meeker County. With 356 kids participating in Litchfield, 130
in Dassel, and 39 in Grove City, we have been having a busy summer, and we
appreciate the generosity of our donors who helped make it fun for the kids.
First, I would like to thank the Friends of the Litchfield
Public Library. They assist in funding
the summer reading program prizes every year for the Litchfield Library, as
well as things like craft supplies that we use in special summer activities
like this year’s Wednesday Fun at the Library.
The prizes funded by the Friends include brand-new books for kids of all
ages. You help the Friends support programs
for kids whenever you shop at the library book sale. The next book sale is this Saturday, August
20, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the library meeting room.
I’d also like to thank the businesses that donated gift
certificates that the kids can choose as prizes. The following local businesses donated
certificates given as prizes in all three libraries in Meeker County:
Litchfield, Grove City, and Dassel.
- · Pizza Ranch: pizzas
- · McDonald’s: fries and desserts
- · Pizza Hut: pizzas
- · KLFD: Minnesota Zoo passes
Litchfield DQ donated Dilly Bars for kids in the Litchfield
and Grove City programs. Cokato DQ has
given certificates for ice cream cones to the Dassel program.
Jimmy’s Pizza of Litchfield donated pizza gift certificates
for kids in the Litchfield summer reading program, and Jimmy’s Pizza of Dassel
donated certificates for the Dassel program.
Cokato Subway has given certificates for cookies to the
Dassel summer reading program.
The Kandiyohi County Area YMCA donated family passes for the
Grove City program.
The Dassel Community Chest gave a donation that allowed the
Dassel Library to buy new books to give to kids as prizes.
The Cokato-Dassel Lions gave a donation that we used to
bring in St. John’s Outdoor University to the Dassel Library for a program
called “Nature Olympics”. St. John’s teaches kids ages three through
twelve about science through stories, games, and other activities.
A library cooperative in southwestern Minnesota called
SAMMIE provided a grant that the Dassel Library used to create a summer program
called Maker Fun. This twice-monthly
program offers a variety of activities for kids age 10 and up, such as games,
crafts, and cooking. They have one session left this summer. Because it has been popular, we’ll be
continuing that into fall, once a month on the second Monday after school.
Thank you to all of these businesses and organizations for
supporting kids and reading in our communities.
The summer reading programs in all three libraries continue through the
last day of August. Kids and teens can
bring in their summer reading game sheets for prizes until then. Keep reading for fun, for prizes, and for
school readiness!
