Orcas School library re-opens

Thanks to students' fundraising, donations from the community and a commitment from the school board, the library will re-open on Oct. 8.

By Colleen Smith Summers • October 5, 2012 3:26 pm
Sabrina Bailey (left) and Madison Todd (right) were top sellers in the “Unwrap the Library” drive. They are pictured above filling out the fundraising thermometer.
Sabrina Bailey (left) and Madison Todd (right) were top sellers in the “Unwrap the Library” drive. They are pictured above filling out the fundraising thermometer.

Madison Todd’s favorite book is “Gargoyles Don’t Drive Buses.”

A fourth grader at Orcas Island School, Todd loves to read and check out books from the school library. But she and her fellow students were unable to do that this year after budget cuts shut the library’s doors.

Todd went into action, participating in the Orcas Island Education Foundation’s “Unwrap the Library” fundraiser. She, along with sixth grader Sabrina Bailey, sold the greatest number of wrapping paper packages. They came in at nearly $1,000 each. Bailey reached out to relatives near and far via internet sales. Most of Todd’s sales were from going door to door.

“I sold them to my family, to people at Lavender Hollow and to my friends,” she said.

Thanks to the students’ hard work, donations from the community and a commitment from the school board, the library re-opened on Oct. 8. Initially, it will be staffed four days a week for three to five hours a day. A chunk of the overall $43,000 goal has been met.

Gross sales for the wrapping paper fundraiser were $14,000 with OIEF netting $6,500. The other top sellers were Jefferson Freeman in the first grade and Sabrina Bailey and Millie Kau,  who are both in the sixth grade.

OIEF also received direct donations of more than $9000. And money is still arriving.

The school board voted to add $10,000 to help fund the library at its Sept. 27 meeting.

“It is overwhelming to see how our community responds to needs at the school,” said OIEF President Janet Brownell. “And to all of the students, parents, neighbors, friends, grandparents, aunts and uncles who helped to re-open the library – thank you.”