What We Fund
Our funding helps support early literacy programs, technology access, cultural engagement, adult education, and capital improvements at Jefferson County Public Library.
Early Literacy Programs
Early Literacy means early reading and much more! Early Literacy includes the language, comprehension, and writing skills that are intimately linked and simultaneously developed in a child’s first three years of life. These skills develop in real-life settings through positive interactions with literacy materials and other people—making the library a perfect place to foster early literacy.
Interaction in Early Literacy skill development is one of the reasons JCLF supports a range of early literacy programs and spaces at JCPL. We actively support:
- 1000 Books Before Kindergarten
- Babies First Books
- Raise a Reader
Library Summer Challenge
The Library Summer Challenge is a community challenge that offers something for every age and skill level and is designed to help school-age residents maintain literacy skills over the summer school break. In addition to helping individuals maintain and develop literacy skills during the summer, the program offers a school contest for grades K-12, and one school from each of five categories is awarded $800 to support its school library or reading-related programs. JCLF provides the award monies for the Summer Challenge School Contest.
Technology
Each year, we help support JCPL’s work of making technology education, services and devices accessible for all Jeffco residents. We’ve helped fund the purchase of laptops for tech classes, tablets that can be checked out, funding for STEM events and programs, and this year we’ll be helping support JCPL’s Mobile Makerspace – a traveling space that makes maker programs and events accessible for Library patrons throughout Jefferson County.
Capital Improvements: Outdoor Adventure Spaces, Makerspaces, & More!
Makerspace
Makerspaces are collaborative work spaces for making, exploring, learning, and sharing. These spaces have a variety of maker equipment for building, crafting, robotics and more! They are playgrounds for the imagination for every age and interest.
Outdoor Adventure Space
The Discover Together: Outdoor Adventure Space, provides tools and opportunities for children to engage in unstructured play in an outdoor environment. Unstructured play helps children’s develop motor, creativity, cooperation, and socialization skills. JCLF has helped provide major funding for these spaces at Standley Lake and Belmar Libraries.
Thanks to the following major donors whose generosity has helped fund a variety of major capital improvements at Jefferson County Public Library:
Allison Brigham and Warren Roeske
Bank of Colorado
Sally Duncan
Fransen Pittman General Contractors
Genesee Mountain Foundation
Lakewood Legacy Foundation
Melvin & Elaine Wolf Foundation
MWH Funding
Rachelle Naishtut
Vicki Ponce
Joseph and Allysen Santilli
Socrates Foundation
Adult Education
The Foundation has provided support for a variety of adult learning opportunities throughout the years, from photography/computer/coding classes to language learning to writing workshops. This year, we will be providing funding for Hard Times Writers Workshop, a joint effort of Lighthouse Writers and JCPL. These workshops provide community and a creative outlet for people who have recently experienced or are currently experiencing poverty, addiction, homelessness, and other hard situations. Here, participants learn how to put these difficult experiences into words. Led by seasoned instructors who guide participants through prompts and writing exercises, Hard Times workshops create a safe space for people in difficult situations to tell their stories and hone their craft.
Cultural Engagement
It’s often said that one can discover the world within the walls of a library. With the Culture Pass, patrons can also discover the world outside their library. The Culture Pass offers great cultural opportunities to anyone with a Jeffco library card. With one click on the JCPL website, free reservations can be made to visit any one of Jeffco’s participating cultural centers, like the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver Firefighters Museum, Butterfly Pavilion, Dinosaur Ridge, Colorado Railroad Museum, and many more cultural attractions.