Paso Robles News|Friday, March 29, 2024
You are here: Home » Community » Masons donate $1000 to Paso Robles Library Foundation
  • Follow Us!

Masons donate $1000 to Paso Robles Library Foundation 

Paso Robles City Library, Thaddeus Sherman Masonic Lodge 196, Paso Robles Library Foundation, Denise Braun, Mayor Steve Martin, Karen Christiansen, Heather Stephenson, Meagan Friberg

Continuing their partnership with the Paso Robles City Library to support young readers, members of the Paso Robles Thaddeus Sherman Masonic Lodge 196 present a check in the amount of $1,000 to the Paso Robles Library Foundation. Accepting on behalf of the Library Foundation is board member Denise Braun and representatives from the City of Paso Robles including Mayor Steve Martin, Library Manager Karen Christiansen, and Children’s Services Librarian Heather Stephenson. Photo by Meagan Friberg

Established in 2014, the Mason’s Summer Reading Award supports local youth

– The Paso Robles Thaddeus Sherman Masonic Lodge 196 continued their partnership with the Paso Robles City Library to support young readers in the Paso Robles community with a $1,000 donation to the Paso Robles Library Foundation on Tuesday. The donation was accepted on behalf of the Paso Robles Library Foundation by board member Denise Braun as well as representatives from the City of Paso Robles including Mayor Steve Martin, Library Manager Karen Christiansen, and Children’s Services Librarian Heather Stephenson.

“I am happy to accept this donation on behalf of the Library Foundation,” said Braun. “We appreciate that the Masons are supporting our program.”

The funds will be used to provide new books for the library under the “Mason’s Summer Reading Award” banner established in 2014, according to Stephenson. Participants ages 2-12 who complete the “Every Hero Has a Story” reading program this summer will be entered to win the chance to choose a new book, purchased courtesy of the Masons, to be placed on the shelves of the library in their name.

“The Masons are wonderful supporters of literacy in our Paso Robles community, and we are thrilled to continue this partnership,” commented Stephenson. “To personally select a book for the Paso Robles City Library collection is such a source of pride for our lucky winners who persevered to finish the summer reading program. The book, with their name inside, will stay in the library for many years to come and be a symbol of that accomplishment.”

The remainder of the Masons’ donation will be used to help supply paperback book prizes for the teen summer reading program, “Read to the Rhythm.”

Thomas Irwin, Master of the Thaddeus Sherman Lodge 196, said that the Masons’ Summer Reading Award is an important way for the Masons to give back to the Paso Robles community.

“One of the missions of our organization is to focus on supporting literacy,” said Irwin. “What better way to do that than to reward these children who keep reading over their summer vacation. Our hope is that we will be able to help keep these young readers involved, engaged and visiting their public library for a long time.”

Mayor Martin said: “Paso Robles has always been a community where service organizations have helped out with different functions, and particularly with functions involving children. I am so proud of this library facility and what it means to our community; the library is knowledge. When we get kids involved with library services at a young age, they learn to love reading and learning. Investing in the library really is investing in our community, and investing in our community means investing in our children. I think the City of Paso Robles can be proud that we have organizations such as the Masons and many others that go out of their way to make funds available to the Library Foundation.”

Share To Social Media

Comments

About the author: Reporter Meagan Friberg

Meagan Friberg is a reporter for the Paso Robles Daily News and A-Town Daily News.