West Indy Branch Library
Donation to West Indy Branch Library 2022
Children’s programs:
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Blank Puzzles for Mary Rigg Crafts: Mary Rigg kids got to create their own puzzles using these!
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Marshmallows and Pasta for Mary Rigg Crafts: our Children’s Librarian created a fun STEAM activity for the kids using these. The kids connected dry spaghetti noodles with marshmallows to create cool structures.
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Potting supplies: we used the giftcard to purchase dirt, plants, and pots for our Earth Day program, where students from William Penn Middle School visited and helped us re-pot our houseplants.
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Winterfest craft kit supplies: purchased supplies for our yearly Library ornament craft for Winterfest. Handed out 143 this year!
Winterfest ornament picture:
Adult programs:
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Paints, ink paints, and canvases for use at our weekly Crafternoon program for adults to express their creativity!
Patron needs:
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Bike Locks for Patron Use: we offer bike locks to patrons so they can lock their bikes up while they are visiting the Library. A few got stolen, so we purchased new ones.
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Warmth Kits Supplies: we purchased socks, gloves, hats, and hand warmers for our unhoused patrons to use during the winter season. This is something patrons appreciate greatly and rely on.
Staff needs:
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Food for staff meetings: gift card was used to purchase breakfast for staff at our monthly staff meetings.
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Air Purifiers for Branch: air purifiers were a great purchase for staff wellbeing as they helped keep the branch air cleaner.
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Brita Jug for Staff: to help keep the drinking water clean and safe for staff.
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2026 Planners for Staff: to help us stay organized!
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Decorated Paper for Display Case: we purchased wallpaper to use to decorate our glass display case (a Then and Now display!)
Donation for Chair Yoga for $2000 in 2023
Donation to West Indy Branch Library 2022
The funds that WIDC gave to the West Indianapolis Branch library for the 2022 year were focused on the staff, branch projects, brightening our space, and crafts for kids. With the continued stress from the pandemic and the added stressors of working with the public during such tumultuous times, I focused once more on boosting the staff morale. We’ve been able to purchase lunch from local West Indy businesses like Barry’s and El Corcel for the entire staff, as well as helping to purchase special treats to celebrate staff birthdays.
Another big purchase were items to better our branch as a whole. We purchased new shelving for our very small storage closet, which has greatly helped in being able to organize the limited space we have. We also purchased more pots and soil for additional plants that are rapidly filling our little branch and making it feel more welcoming (as well as being educational. Stop in and read and learn about our different plants!). These plants have allowed us to share clippings with neighbors and to also get some clippings from neighbors to add to our growing menagerie.
Once more, we’ve been able to purchase a wide variety of craft supplies to fuel our very popular Take & Go crafts! This year, our juvenile librarian Meegan gave herself the 2022 goal of producing a craft kit for each of the 50 states plus Washington DC and Puerto Rico. 52 craft kits in 52 weeks, and she finished right on time with the help of items purchased with the funds provided by WIDC!
The biggest purchase that some of the funds were able to go towards was a charging station. For years now we’ve had patrons come in that need to charge their phones and have relied on random cables and blocks left behind that we would loan to them, with rarely getting any of them back. This charging station has been a game changer in so many ways! We’ve had plenty of comments from patrons about the charging station like, “This is amazing! Other branches don’t have this.”
We’re always so grateful for everything that WIDC does, and while these gift cards might not seem like much to others, we have been able to do some incredible and helpful things all year long.
Donation to West Indy Branch Library 2021
The funds that WIDC gave to the West Indianapolis Branch library for the 2021 year were focused on the staff, branch projects, and crafts for kids. With the continued stress from the pandemic and the added stressors of working with the public during such tumultuous times, I felt a need to focus once more on boosting the staff morale. We’ve been able to purchase lunch from local West Indy businesses like Barry’s and El Corcel for the entire staff, as well as helping to fund a lunch for our annual Staff Day. Because of Covid, our annual staff day was once again virtual, but this time we spent it together as a group in the branch. Streaming it onto the big screen in the community room, we had a wonderful potato and salad bar with all the fixings that was perfect for our omnivores and vegans alike.
Another big purchase were items to better our branch as a whole. We now have chairs for the kids to sit in when using the AWEs in the children’s area instead of cushions. We also purchased some shelving, as well as pots and soil for the plants that are slowly filling our little branch and making it feel more welcoming (as well as being educational. Stop in and read and learn about our different plants!). Another added feature that we were able to purchase were small hot air balloons to fill the beautiful sky that we have. This is an homage to the old Call-a-Story hot air balloon that so many of our life long residents remember seeing when they first walked into the branch and used when they were children.
We were also able to purchase thirty 1 Day bus passes from IndyGo to help many of our patrons with getting to shelters downtown, to job interviews, and much more. This has been incredibly helpful to so many and they’re always incredibly grateful. One such person had left a bad relationship and ended up on the streets. They had family in Kentucky who had purchased a Grey Hound bus ticket for them to get there. After helping them print off the ticket, we were able to give them a pass so they wouldn’t have to walk in the 12-degree weather from the library to the bus depot. We look forward to being able to continue providing this service for those in need.
Lastly, we’ve been able to purchase a wide variety of craft supplies to fuel our very popular Take & Go crafts! We’re bought everything from pony beads for a Flint Corn Craft to jingle bells to chenille stems in multiple colours, and everything in between. We even had enough left over to purchase some fall garland that we used to decorate the branch. None of these could have been possible without the funds provided by WIDC.
