Governors residents donate to Lewes library friends group

Most of the residents in Governors, a community off Gills Neck Road just outside Lewes, have already discovered the jewel that is the Lewes Public Library.

For many, a bike ride to pick up some new books and drop off old ones is part of their weekly routine.

So when a group of Governors neighbors decided to hold a happy hour July 30 in the community's swim-up bar, plans quickly evolved to turn the event into a fundraiser to benefit the Friends of the Lewes Public Library.

Once the call went out on the community's Facebook page, donations began to pour in. Two neighbors volunteered to set up a water ice stand in the screened clubhouse porch while others signed up to tend bar, buy ingredients or haul bags of ice. Generous monetary donations to help organizers buy margarita fixings, beer and soda meant that event proceeds could go directly to the library.

On July 30, neighbors toasted each other and gave thanks for the opportunity to live in a great community. Organizers netted $1,165 to donate to the Friends of the Lewes Public Library.

“The Friends board of directors is very grateful to the residents in Governors for the support of the Lewes Public Library. Your example of what a community can do when they come together to positively impact the greater Lewes community, and specifically a cornerstone enterprise like the library, should be recognized and may be an inspiration to others,” said Candace Vessella, Friends of the Lewes Public Library president.

The Lewes Public Library is an independent library within the Delaware Division of Libraries consortium. As such, it must raise over half of its annual operating funds each year. The library’s two sources of governmental funding are Sussex County and the State of Delaware. The remaining funds needed each year must be raised through the staff’s own efforts of soliciting grants and donations, collecting fines and fees, and holding fundraising events, as well as through the efforts of the Friends of Lewes Public Library.

Support like the Governors community donation enables the Friends to provide the funds needed to pay for 100 percent of the books added to the library’s collection, as well as many of the programs offered free to the community. The Friends group is the largest private source of funding for the Lewes library, having contributed more than $300,000 in just the past five years. For more information, go to lewes.lib.de.us/friends/.