Glen Lake Community Library holds children’s holiday book drive

From staff reports

A special holiday tradition continues as the Glen Lake Community Library kicks off its 14th annual call for children’s books on Nov. 19. The Friends of the Library, in cooperation with Glen Lake School’s “Parenting Communities” program, are once again collecting donations of new children’s books for children whose families are in need of assistance this holiday season.

Kathy Bartell, the coordinator for the “Parenting Communities” program for the Glen Lake Schools, compiles a “wish list” of boys and girls from preschool through age 11. She calls on such groups as Head Start and the Glen Lake Elementary School as well as her own “Parenting Communities” program for names of families that need assistance. Any family can find themselves in hard times and the goal is to make sure the children still have some holiday joy in the form of a special book.

The list is available at the Glen Lake Library in Empire and at the Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor. Donors are asked to purchase a book for a child on this list and deliver it gift-wrapped to the library by Dec. 16. The Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor will kindly provide a 20-percent discount on any books purchased for this program and will even gift wrap and deliver the books for you. Last year, just over 220 books were donated. The list grows longer every year and every year our community steps up and gets every book needed for the children on the list.

Please help bring the joy of books to these children for the holidays again this year. Remember, donations collected for the book drive will directly benefit our local community and Leelanau County. Your gift will make a real difference right here at home.