Love libraries? Help save them!

My love affair with the written word started at home, with my Mom reading to me, but it came to full flower at the local library. As a kid, I spent countless hours there, lost in Nancy Drew mysteries while my brother pored over the adventure tales of Robert Louis Stevenson and Mom browsed magazines we couldn't get at home. Then we'd all load up with books to take home. To this day, I'm still a big library fan, especially of the Lincoln Public Library at Twelve Bridges.

The library is a source of fun, entertainment, and education. But not everyone realizes how much the local public library has changed to keep up with the times. (Alas, my brother thinks they're just dusty repositories of old books.)

Public libraries offer more than just books. They offer free computer use and Internet access (a key resource for those who can't afford or don't get web access at home). Libraries offer movie rentals and screenings, music CD check-outs, children's programs, support for seniors in various programs, and a range of free or low-cost seminars. And they are a key help in job hunting. Add the e-books, classes, homework help, tutoring, and so much more that the library does and you start to see how vital a role the library plays in our education system.

Sadly, libraries are in danger of closing their doors, largely due to city budget cuts. And that means our communities are losing access to one of their key support and education facilities. We can all help, but there's no time to lose. Take your kids, your parents, or your grandparents to the library, organize a read-in, or just make a donation. Hey, if you'd donate to save the polar bears, why not donate to save a library from extinction? We don't want to lose either, but losing a library could have a much bigger impact on your own community.

Get involved
Visit your local library and ask if they have a foundation to which you can donate or a 'friends' group you can join.

My local library in Lincoln has a wonderful and supportive group, Friends of the Lincoln Public Library (FOLL), that is doing all it can to help our library keep from having to slash hours. There is an ongoing book sale (by FOLL) inside the public library you can always drop a dollar into. Coming up this Saturday: FOLL Book Sale, Feb. 26 (from 10-5) at 485 Twelve Bridges Dr, Lincoln, CA, (916) 434-2410. And there's a fundraising dinner on March 12 ($50); they don't yet have a way to donate online, but you can send a check, made out to FOLL's Save Our Library Fund, to Friends of the Lincoln Public Library, PO Box 394, Lincoln, CA 95648.

Good work: give a coat, share the warmth

Who doesn’t need a nice, warm coat in this winter weather? Even California, with its relatively mild winters, has been slammed this year with extra-cold and rainy weather. That’s one reason the coat-donation drive sponsored by Burlington Coat Factory has been extended through FEBRUARY 13. When you think about the people (adults and children) who might otherwise have to suffer through the rest of this winter without a warm coat, and how easy is is to simply go through a closet and gather up gently used coats you no longer wear, it’s easy to realize it’s time to donate a coat.
Get involved
Easy: Join Burlington Coat Factory’s campaign (in partnership with Good Morning America and One Warm Coat) to gather coats for kids and adults. Check their website for a store near you and simply drop coats off there; you’ll get a nice warm feeling in return (and a 10 percent discount in the store). On the website, you can click to hear compelling stories of need. (In the Sacramento area, go to the Citrus Heights store at 6145 San Juan Ave.)
Disclaimer: Note that we don't endorse any organization, but we encourage you to carefully look into any group to which you plan to donate time or money.

Good work: help public radio

It sure has been fun pitching in on the morning volunteer shift for the call-in pledge drive (ending today) at Sacramento's Capital Public Radio. Okay, maybe I'm not as big a help as I'd hoped to be. At times, I feel like a cross between the Verizon guy ("can you hear me NOW?") and a frazzled trainee at a call center in Mumbai ("say again, please? Can you spell that? Smith? oh...").

See, between my phone headset (not the equipment's fault, I'm sure) and the background noise in the pledge room, I can't always hear my callers easily. But they are unfailingly polite, generous, and supportive— especially of Capital Public Radio (which airs National Public Radio and more, including great local coverage). My callers have their faves among programs, including hits like Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me; A Prairie Home Companion; Fresh Air and also local talent and reports (from Capital Public Radio News to The California Report). And I'm really enjoying chatting with them. But I dare not dawdle.

"The last day of the pledge drive can be a real madhouse," says Art, an experienced volunteer sitting across from me. "The calls come in hot and heavy, so be ready." I brace myself, and inadvertently hit the HOLD button. Oops. "One year, we hit the pledge drive goal early," says Bob, another volunteer veteran, "so the staff came in and we popped a few champagne corks. Not the expensive stuff, though," he noted (a non-profit, public radio does watch its expenses).

At the end of my shift, I can say that, it's been a joyful experience for me, if not always for my patient callers. But next year, if I really want to help out, perhaps I'll just send a check instead of showing up and behaving like a bad Lily Tomlin routine ("Is this the party to whom I'm speaking?"). It may help Capital Public Radio more.

Get involved
Easy: Donate online to Capradio.org (year-round, you don't need to wait for a pledge drive). Or mail a check to: Capital Public Radio, 7055 Folsom Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95826. And if you forgo the Thank you Gift (ie. a thermos, DVD, and such); that way, more of your donation goes to the organization. Or to find/donate to your local public radio station, go to NPR and hit 'Find a Station".

Harder: Volunteer to help take calls during the next Pledge Drives; check online at Capradio.org or to find your local public radio station, go to NPR and hit 'Find a Station".

Disclaimer: Note that we don't endorse any organization, but we encourage you to carefully look into any group to which you plan to donate time or money.

Good work: beautify a school

Is it easier to learn in a setting that obviously values beauty and creativity? Or to put it another way, would you prefer to send your child (or your neighbors' kids) to a school surrounded by asphalt and concrete or to one surrounded by well-tended fruit trees and pretty flowering shrubs? Well, duh!

Thing is, not all schools have the staff or budget to take care of pretty flowers and such. That's where volunteers can help. A few years ago, our garden club (SCLH Garden Club) made a connection with teachers at Lincoln's Twelve Bridges Elementary School.

First, local ranchers donated some small fruit trees—apples, peaches, pears and the like, some three dozen in all. But like a well-raised child, every tree needs care and attention, so today the garden club is back with loppers and shears to prune all 36 trees. Whew!

Two days beforehand, we got a quick review of pruning techniques from a local nurseryman, Scott, of Loomis' High Hand Nursery. "Plants teach us a lot," he believes. "They've taught me patience and toughness, with their ability to survive," notes Scott. "And they've taught me to think about what could be," he adds.

It's a foggy, cold morning, but our small band of volunteers (led by Joyce) is cheerful and eager. After some quick reminders from Mr. Toy, the science teacher and from Beverley (didn't get her last name), another teacher at this elementary school, we're ready to tackle the trees. "Remember to prune halfway up the new growth," says Beverley. "Don't go too far," she notes with a laugh.

I notice one gal pruning an apple tree with a long, yellow handled trimmer; the unusual part is, she has a baby in a carrier on her back. "Yep, she's my little helper," says Mrs. Volmer. You can't start 'em too young, when it comes to volunteering volunteering!

After a mornings' work, our little group has accomplished its mission. I look at the neatly trimmed branches, now bare against the winter sky, and think about the possibility of this tiny orchard: of luscious, ripe peaches or bright red apples. And about the possibilities inherent in the young students who might learn the lessons plants—and beautiful surroundings—can teach us all.
Get involved:
Easy. Call your local school and just ask when the next fundraiser is, and step up to buy baked goods or make a donation directly. Check out Project Appleseed, a national campaign for public school improvement, or the National Coalition for Parent Involvement.

Harder. Want to help out at Twelve Bridges? Check out their website. If you're a parent or adult with relatives in any school, pick up the phone and call their school to ask what you can do to help. Parental involvement is a key factor in high-performing schools. You may be asked to help in the classroom by assembling paperwork, by making photocopies, or cleaning up toys used during class breaks (you may be asked to undergo a background check if you plan to work with kids directly--it's for the kids' safety). Or there may be other work needed; let them know if you have special skills. Read more.


Disclaimer: Note that we don't endorse any organization, but we encourage you to carefully look into any group that you plan to donate time or money to.

A year of volunteering: The giving leaf

I'm committed to the idea of 'giving back' in a meaningful way this year. Think of it as one small leaf added to the giving tree (remember the story in the wonderful children's book The Giving Tree, first published in 1964 by Harper & Row, written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein). So I've asked my friends for ideas on how I can get involved, do some volunteer work that's interesting, preferably local or with a local angle, and realistically doable for a gal like me (ie. not terribly young or fit).

My goal is to do a bunch of things every month and write about it on my blog in the hopes that others will learn about the work these organizations are doing. It may include roll-up-the-sleeves effort (like working all day at a library or soup kitchen); exploration (like working the Audubon bird count or planting trees); or fun (like going to a charity auction or school fund-raiser). The point is, we can all give back at various levels, whatever is achievable—it all counts. Americans are among the most generous people on the planet, and more of us would give if we just knew how.

I've gotten some interesting ideas so far. Check 'em out. Please feel free to add yours by commenting below.

LuAnn says: "Training a service dog...check out my blog at http://www.facebook.com/l/2d5ad;hpdmonday.blogspot.com/2009/04/log-of-dog-blogs.HTML If my life ended today and you were to ask me of what I had done (other than family), volunteering for Helping Paws would top the list.


Vicky says: "Rebuilding Together.An organization that repairs and rehabilitates the homes of low-income elderly or disabled homeowners.Its all over the world and we love helping them...."

Pettit wrote: "Trail building and maintaining on the 165-mile Tahoe Rim Trail. :)"

Norma wrote: "Schools always need volunteers. And political parties of the volunteer's choice!"

Cherise wrote: "I think there's an Assistance League in Sacramento... All kinds of community work through them, from calling homebound seniors, to reading to kids, to putting kits together for foster kids and domestic violence victims."

Details: Can't wait for my ideas? Check out the world of giving at the Chronicle of Philanthropy.