Keeping Calm and Carrying on into the New Year!
Happy holidays, Friends! It’s such a busy time of year preparing for the holidays, making the transition from somewhere chilly to Key West (snowbirds!), and enjoying the many events the season brings. But it’s also a crucial time for our Friends organization as we gear up for the membership renewals that will fund our events and, most importantly, our donation to the library.
In the current political climate, supporting our library is more critical than ever. The Friends of the Key West Library are devoted to playing an ongoing role at 700 Fleming Street. As Kim Rinaldi, our Key West branch manager, has said: “Our library would be bereft without its Friends. Your programming is always a command performance for followers of the library, and your support of us has allowed us to turn wish lists into realities.”
Each year, our Key West Friends group makes significant donations to the Key West Library to enhance programming, collections, work in the Florida History Room, and much, much more. We’ve made a minimum of about $50,000 in donations for each of the last number of years, plus additional donations from our special fundraisers. We could not do this without your contributions! If you are already a member of the Friends, now’s the time to renew. Unless you renewed or joined since September 1, 2023, your current membership term ends on January 1.
If possible, we’d love to have you consider raising the level of your donation this year.
Read on for all the exciting events we have planned for the season this year! On December 15, watch for an email announcing ticket sales for our February 19 gala featuring Judy Blume and Pat Scales. If you are reading this and not yet a member of the Friends, join now to get early access to the gala tickets and a reduced price!
If you or your business would like to consider sponsoring one or more of the Friends events this year, we welcome your interest. You can find more information about that opportunity here.
With warmest wishes,
Roberta Isleib, President