Our Royal Tea was Royal Fun!

Just a few weeks ago, nearly 65 JCLF guests, sponsors, Board members and supporters made sure their little pinkies were all arched and ready to join the Jefferson County Library Foundation (JCLF) at its Royal Tea with Royalty benefit. This first-of-its-kind fall fundraiser was held on Friday, November 10, from 3:30-5:30 p.m. at the ever-elegant Briarwood Inn in Golden Tickets were $75 per person, and the simply smashing afternoon featured a four-course tea service (including a signature cocktail) along with a fabulous “mystery” auction and tea cup sale.

Our “royal” guest list included current and former pageant and scholarship winners from throughout Colorado, such as: 2017 Miss Wheelchair Colorado, 2017 Ms. Colorado Senior America, former Miss Fraternidad Hispana Colorado, former Miss Colorado USA, along with the 2018 Evergreen Rodeo Queen, Princess, and Jr. Princess. These stellar guests, all in their glittering tiaras and signature sashes, were seated among our paying guests all throughout the tea party.

But these royals weren’t the only headliners of the day. The afternoon’s entertainment featured a guest appearance by 2014 Ms. Colorado Senior America, Sharon Nuanes, a professional magician, who dazzled our audience with her clever sleight of hand by performing Le Magique Royale. Adding another special touch, 9NEWS Meteorologist Danielle Grant served as the celebrity emcee and took on the role as our “Vanna White” in helping to showcase the live auction items up for bid.

As a high point of the event, JCLF presented its 2017 Legacy Award to Board President Tami Bandimere. Tami, who has served on the JCLF Board for the past nine years, has worked tirelessly to assist JCLF, and she is also president of Bandimere Speedway.

We want to applaud and thank our event sponsors: Allegro Coffee Company, Cat Care Society, Frederick G. Fish Foundation, Genesee Commercial Group, Solera Bank, High Point Financial Group, Guaranty Bank and the Taurus Fund. And we give special thanks to JCLF’s continuing supporters, our Friends Community Partners: Westerra Credit Union, Bandimere Speedway and Pinkard Construction. We also want to acknowledge our terrific volunteer committee for helping to make the day a success: Kay Rowland, Char Harrington and Laura Kepler.

All told, the event helped us raise nearly $8,ooo, and proceeds will help support JCLF along with special Jefferson County Public Library programs and events, such as Summer Reading, Early Childhood Literacy and STEM/STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) activities. To see more photos from our Royal Tea with Royalty, visit www.jeffcolibraryfoundation.org, and click on the events page.

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SPRING WHALE SALE MAKES A HUGE SPLASH!

The 2017 Spring Whale of a Used Book Sale – held June 1-4 at the Jeffco Fairgrounds – lived up to its name by bringing in a big “catch” of more than $70,000. These funds will help support Jefferson County Public Library programs such as STEM/STEAM, Summer Reading and Early Childhood Literacy. In addition to book sales, the event netted another $1,700 in Friends memberships and renewals.

“We were thrilled that so many people came to this year’s spring sale,” said Jenaveve Linabary, Office Manager for the Jefferson County Library Foundation. “We counted nearly 4,500 individuals total who joined us for the Friends-only Preview Night and throughout the following three days of the sale.”

In addition to this crew of happy book lovers, the Whale of a Used Book Sale was supported by a whole flotilla of sponsors: Westerra Credit Union, Bandimere Speedway, Pinkard Construction, The Book Stop, Stevinson Toyota West, Bean Fosters, and Etkin Johnson Real Estate Partners.

We were also grateful to these in-kind supporters who helped to provide food and beverages for our volunteers and for guests at the Friends Preview Night: Chick-fil-A, Olive Garden, Modern Market, Pepsi Bottling Company, Good Times Restaurants, Einstein Bagels, Macaroni Grill, Starbucks, Woody’s Wood Fired Pizza, King Soopers, and Safeway.

We want to send a big shout out to our faithful volunteers and to the hardworking Foundation staff who helped us produce this year’s event.

Thank you!

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Westerra Credit Union Champions Friends

We’re proud to announce that Westerra Credit Union is the Friends of JCPL 2017 “Champion” sponsor! Westerra will sponsor both Whale of a Used Book Sales in spring and fall, as well as Holiday Sales and Friends events throughout the year. That’s not all! They are also providing reusable book bags that will be distributed free of charge to all book sale attendees.

Community sponsors, like Westerra, make it possible for Friends of JCPL to give even more to the JCPL programs we love, like Summer Reading and Early Literacy programs for children.

As a not-for-profit credit union with roots in education, the partnership is a perfect fit. Westerra Credit Union was formed by eight school teachers in 1934. The educators pooled their funds in order to make loans to other teachers.  Its purpose was to put the members first when offering financial services, treating members as valued owners.

“Education is a building block of our credit union as we were started by teachers over 82 years ago and focus on providing financial education to individuals and families,” said Dana Russell, Manager of Marketing and Public Relations for Westerra Credit Union.  “By supporting organizations like the foundation, we are able to help provided services that reach entire communities and make a difference.”

Today Westerra has grown to more than 15,000 members, returned $16.7 million last year to members in lower fees and better rates, and holds a 5-Star Bauer Financial rating – consistently achieving, the Sustained Superiority Award, ranking Westerra among top 10% of credit unions nationwide. In fact, Westerra was featured in the Denver Business Journal as number eight among the Top 200 Healthiest Credit Unions in America in an analysis by depositaccounts.com, a website known for helping consumers find the best rates.

With Westerra’s focus on community-building, it’s no wonder they value Friends. “The alignment with the Jeffco Library Foundation and the programs of JCPL is a great fit for us. Westerra is a locally owned credit union and all of our profits are returned to the people who use our services. This model strengthens communities as we keep more money working locally and to support other organizations with the same philosophy,” Dana Russell said.

Join us in welcoming Westerra Credit Union as a Friend and partner!

Friends of Jefferson County Public Library is a program of the Jefferson County Library Foundation, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to supporting the programs of Jefferson County Public Library through advocacy and fundraising.

Learn more about becoming a Friend of JCPL.

Learn more about Westerra Credit Union.

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Speakeasy: A Different Drummer is a Success!

One of the youngest, and possibly the cutest, drummers of the evening meeting Ben Wysocki (The Fray).

We’re pleased to report that Speakeasy: A Different Drummer was a great success! More than 65 people attended the program, hosted by the Jefferson County Library Foundation, which featured three of Denver’s best-known drummers: Ben Wysocki (The Fray), Brian Nevin (Big Head Todd & The Monsters) and Nate Barnes (Mary Chapin Carpenter).

Brian, Nate and Ben fielded questions from an audience of fans and budding musicians on music, production, practice and their personal pathways to success. The audience was so engaged many of them lingered to talk with the drummers long after the program was over!

We also took the opportunity to educate this audience of 20-to-40-somethings on the magic of the Library. A slide show presentation, which was reinforced by library fun facts on Speakeasy question cards, highlighted the Library’s digital assets, including Hoopla, Lynda.com, Flipster and Zinio.

This unique Speakeasy also gave us a great opportunity to forge relationships with some valuable new community partners, including the City of Lakewood, City of Denver Arts & Venues, Shawn King, Colorado’s Music Ambassador, and, our sponsor, Drum City & Guitar Land. Our thanks to these partners and to all those who attended the event!

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Our 2017 Friends Annual Meeting

On Friday morning, March 17, the Jefferson County Library Foundation was proud to host a special breakfast edition of the Friends of the Library’s Annual Meeting. We welcomed nearly 30 of these Friends and their guests at the Wheat Ridge Recreation Center for a morning of good conversation, great new information and an inspiring presentation by suspense novelist and Colorado native, Samuel Marquis.

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Foundation Executive Director Jo Schantz and suspense author Samuel Marquis.

As many avid readers may already know, Sam is a bestselling and award-winning author whose books include The Slush Pile Brigade and Blind Thrust. This acclaimed writer works by day as a VP-Principal Hydrogeologist with an environmental firm in Boulder, Colorado, and by night as the spinner of the Nick Lassiter-Skyler International Espionage Series, and the Joe Higheagle Environmental Sleuth Series. As a result of their popularity, his books have climbed to #1 on The Denver Post bestseller list. Sam’s Denver-based political thriller The Coalition was just announced as an Award-Winning Finalist of the Colorado Book Awards in the Thriller category.

After Sam’s presentation, our Friends and guests were able to purchase his most recent novels and have the books personally autographed. We were delighted to welcome Sam and his wife, Christine, to our event!

Our breakfast guests also learned about some exciting new changes in our Friends membership structure. We called on Kay Rowland, Secretary of the Friends Council, to walk us through the new member categories and show us the new Friends membership cards that will be available after April 1. The morning’s agenda also included a special update by Cindy Jaye, Public Services Manager for the Library, who brought us up-to-speed on this year’s county-wide Summer Reading challenge. If you would like to request a copy of Cindy’s presentation, please contact us.

Above all, this meeting was a time to honor our Friends and all they do to help our Foundation and our Jefferson County Public Library. How do Friends assist us? By sponsoring (and volunteering at) our semi-annual Whale of a Used Book Sales, by staffing our Friends Gift & Book Shop at the Belmar Library, and — most of all — by being a part of the year-round membership group, the Friends of the Library.

Not a Friends member? Join today.  And…stay tuned for more information on upcoming Friends meetings and events!

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Friends of JCPL logo

Changes Coming to Friends

Laura Kepler, President Friends of JCPL

Laura Kepler, President of Friends of Jefferson County Public Library

As President of the Friends of Jefferson County Public Library (JCPL), I spent many hours thinking about our mission and how best to achieve it. One day, I ran across a quote from Baltasar Gracian that seemed to sum up what I had long been trying to articulate: Friendship multiplies the good in life. That is precisely what Friends of JCPL does. Through advocacy and support, we multiply the good of JCPL, helping it become stronger by building a vibrant community around it.

When I thought about our goals for this year (and beyond), I asked myself a simple question: How can we multiply the good by a greater factor? The Friends Council and I want to offer our Friends more. We want to offer our Library more as well. We will be implementing some changes that will accomplish both of these goals, including adding benefits to your Friends membership, like:

  • Discounts at Friends Holiday Sales
  • Discounts on Friends ticketed events
  • Invitations to Friends events

We’ll also be introducing a new Friends membership card. This card is made of a durable plastic that won’t only identify you as a Friend of JCPL, but will also get you all those great discounts at Friends book sales, including the Friends Gift & Book Shop at Belmar Library.

We will also be trying to cut costs by digitizing our Footnotes newsletter. It will still give you all the great updates you’re accustomed to, but in a digital format that will be emailed right to your home. This will allow us to give a higher percentage of Friends membership fees (which are tax-deductible donations) to support the programs we all love, like Summer Reading and Early Literacy programs for children.

Please take a moment to review some of the new benefits of Friendship. I certainly hope you will join us in multiplying the good and making Friends of JCPL stronger than ever.

2017 Friends of JCPL Membership Levels & Benefits

Effective April 2017

Individual                   $15-$24

  • Admission to Preview Night Spring Whale Sale
  • Admission to Preview Night Fall Whale Sale
  • 10% discount at Friends Gift Shop at Belmar year-round
  • Invites to Friends-only events
  • Friends e-newsletter
  • One Friends membership card

 

 Sponsor                       $100-$249

  • All the Supporter perks, and…
  • 10% discount at Friends Holiday Book Sales

 
Couple                         $25-$39

  • All the Individual perks, and…
  • One additional Friends membership card  (2 total)
 Patron                          $250-$499

  • All the Sponsor perks, and…
  • Free admission for two to a Friends ticketed event *
  • 10% discount at Friends Holiday Book Sales

 
Supporter                   $40-$99  

  • All of the Couple perks, and…
  • 10% discount on ticketed Friends events
  • 2 additional Friends membership cards (4 total)
 Conservator               $500+

  • All the Patron perks, and…
  • Free admission for two to two Friends ticketed events*
  • Special invitation to the President’s appreciation event

*This perk applies to the primary cardholder, not all individual cardholders within the membership.

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Thanks to our Donors for Year-End Gifts!

thanks-1314887_1920The end of each year brings happy thoughts and kind deeds that surround our traditional winter holidays, and there are two traditions at the Jefferson County Library Foundation that we always look forward to — Colorado Gives Day and our end-of-year appeal.

This past year was no different! I’m delighted to tell you that more than $14,000 was donated on Colorado Gives Day during the 24-hour giving campaign. Added to that, our mail campaign brought in generous additional contributions, resulting in a total of nearly $24,000 in year-end gifts.

Although the December weather was cold, here at the Foundation our hearts were warmed by the generosity of our many supporters, donors and library-lovers. Your special gifts help us uphold our mission: to support and enrich the capabilities, resources and services of the Jefferson County Public Library through fundraising and advocacy efforts that benefit our diverse community.

The recent winter holidays marked a time for us to celebrate and give thanks for all the good things in our lives. Now that we have settled into the new year, JCLF continues to celebrate and appreciate all those who help to support our Foundation and our local libraries. Thank you!

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Friends of JCPL logo

Friends Annual Meeting: March 17

Read more
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Spring Whale of a Used Book Sale: June 1-4

Read more
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This Above All cover

Join the Friends and author Mike Foster, February 15

This Above All coverFor the love of libraries! Want to become more involved with the Library? Meet new people? Provide ideas for new programs? Volunteer at fun events? Help raise awareness of the library? Help raise funds for Jefferson County Public Library to continue to meet the needs of all residents of the county?

If you love the Library, join us for our first meeting of the FRIENDS of the Jefferson County Public Library at the Golden location, on Wednesday, February 15th, at 6:15 pm.

This Valentine-themed meeting/event includes a “Share Your Love of Books” exercise and you’re encouraged to bring your favorite book and chat about it with a different person every four minutes in a progressive lineup. (Think speed-dating – but you’re not really looking for a mate, just a new friend or acquaintance.)

We’ll also have a visit from local author Mike Foster. Mike recently published his fifth book – a work of fiction – This Above All. We’ll have door prizes and refreshments. This is a great way to meet new people and learn about fun opportunities at the library through the FRIENDS of the JCPL and the JCPL Foundation. For all lovers of the Library. Free, but please register in advance at https://www.meetup.com/Innovators-Workshop. For: Adults, 16+

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