Friday, September 7, 2007

For Immediate Release

For information contact
Ann Meilus
(978) 355-2289

Barre Library Association Announces Major Fund Raising Opportunity

Barre, MA -- September 7, 2007 -- The Barre Library Association (BLA) today announced than an anonymous benefactor has pledged $25,000 to the organization if it can succeed in raising at least an equivalent amount by the end of this calendar year.

The challenge has sent a tremendous charge of excitement through the BLA and its Board of Directors.
This opportunity comes at a propitious moment and we are truly grateful to our anonymous donor for making this incredible gift available to us," said Ann Meilus, the BLA's President. "So often, an offer comes along with strings attached, but in this case, the news is terrific and the terms can only benefit the people the library serves. If we meet the challenges, this will be one of the biggest gifts that our library has ever received."

The donor's conditions are such that all new gifts must be committed by December 31, 2007 in response to the challenge, and that anonymity must be preserved. No multi-year commitments will count toward hitting the goal.

When asked what motivated the donor to step forward, Ms. Meilus stated that the contribution was given out of love for the town of Barre and respect for its people. The donor had been particularly impressed with the way the BLA had acted to restore the damage sustained in the rains and flash flood of 2005. That flooding produced knee-deep water at the library, rendering the lower level children's room completely unusable, and leading to significant water and mold damage. The renovation and restoration work was completed in the late spring of this year with the reopening of the children's room, and the library is now fully operational and open to the public. "The donor also appreciated the fact, that despite the work we have recently completed, there are many more facility issues that must be addressed over the next decade," said Ms. Meilus. "As an independent non-profit organization, the BLA needs private philanthropic support to sustain our beautiful building for the benefit of the public."

While a gift from an anonymous benefactor smacks of a tale from the depth's of the library's fiction collection, there is no air of mystery here. The donor wants to inspire and stimulate giving to the BLA so that it may continue its stewardship of the library facility.

According to Ms. Meilus, plans are now under way to solicit the entire BLA membership and to then make a broader appeal to local families and businesses. "It is important for those of us closest to the organization to personally demonstrate our financial support, so that those in the broader community know that we have confidence in our ability to succeed," she said.

For further information about how to help meet the challenge of the BLA, please contact Ann Meilus at (978) 355-2289, or visit the library at 19 Pleasant Street. For more than a century, the BLA has provided the town of Barre witha magnificent facility in which to operate a public library. The library receives more than 15,000 patron visits each year, and circulates more than 40,000 items, making it one of the most heavily utilized libraries in the region.

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