Blog

Giving Tuesday- a day to celebrate the causes and the missions that mean the most to us- deserves more than one day.

There's a lot that goes into helping kids in our community be their best. This includes hands-on programs, partnering with the community schools, developing learning materials, and providing their favorite books. The Indian Prairie Public Library a place for everyone in the community to explore, connect, and be inspired.

Learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPE4cHzdJEc

Giving Tuesday is a day-long global event to put your dollars toward a cause that is near and dear to your heart. We know you love the Indian Prairie Public Library. Please consider a donation to the Indian Prairie Public Library Foundation & Friends.

As you get ready to shop for the holidays on Amazon, a portion of your sales can benefit the library at no additional cost to you at AmazonSmile.

Choose Indian Prairie Public Library Foundation as the charity you wish you donate to when you sign up at smile.amazon.com.

 Your donation makes it possible for us to be a vital part of our community. Thank you to those who recently supported the library. 

 Our Donor Tree has been growing since the library moved to its current building in 1996. The tree of commemorative leaves and stones is located near the first-floor lobby.

If you're making purchases from Amazon, a portion of your sales can benefit the library at no additional cost to you through the AmazonSmile program. Choose Indian Prairie Public Library Foundation as the charity you wish you donate to when you sign up at smile.amazon.com.

Experience the night sky with one of the library's new telescopes. Thanks to donations like yours, the Indian Prairie Public Library Foundation gives the gift of space exploration to the community through these portable telescopes. We've used the telescopes during a few programs last month, and they were a big hit. You can check out one of the telescopes for yourself. It's easy to place a hold with your Indian Prairie Public Library card. 

Help us continue to provide more opportunities like this to the community. Please consider a donation to the Indian Prairie Foundation and Friends today.

 Tim Wierdak didn't know why he wasn't getting job offers. In two short weeks, he went from not knowing why to landing a new job.

In the first month of our Summer Challenge, the library presented 88 programs for kids and teens with 2,331 people in attendance. The library also participated in 17 events out in the community serving another 1,988 people.

In response to patron requests, we have bags you can check out to bring your library materials home with you. Just in case you forget your bags, this is a convenient way to keep your library materials home with you. Ask at the Checkout Desk next time you visit us. Bags are sponsored by the Foundation & Friends.  

Thank you to those who recently donated to the Foundation & Friends.

Book Nook Sales & Movie Donations, $2,814.75
Whole Foods Market Willowbrook, $2,526
Anonymous, $2,500
Praxair, $1,200

In memory of Beatrix Lawrence,
Megan & Noah Lawrence, $1,000
Jeffrey & Susan Goldsmith, $54

Barbara Brader, $400
VizoArts, $330
Joseph Sadowski, $250
Maria L. Sadowski $250
Burr Ridge Veterinary Clinic, $200
Carriage Way West, Inc., $200
Countryside Bank, $200
Darien Kiwanis Club, $200
Pamela Johnson, $200
Louis Both, $150
Beatrice Cevela, $150
Amazon Shoppers, $137.86
Zazzo's Pizza and Bar, $100
Taylor Frawley, $75
Shilpa Mailapur, $75
Nancy Martin, $50
Marcia Hadad, $25
Sharon Wozny, $20

Jonathan Troc, $13.50 

This spring, a very special place is making its home at the library- Bea's Garden. The new space in the library's Prairie Patch includes a bee habitat, an observatory to watch the bees working, an insect hotel, and pollinator plants to attract butterflies. 

Bea's Garden will be created through a generous donation from the Lawrence family in loving memory of Beatrix, daughter of Noah and Megan and the sister of Clio and Alexis.
Alexis and Beatrix, twins, were born prematurely, and Bea's lungs never fully matured. When she developed an infection shortly after her first birthday, she couldn't recover and passed away at 13–months–old on October 19, 2018.

While she was only on Earth for a short time, Beatrix loved coming to the library with her family—in fact, it was the first place she visited other than her home, the hospital, or a doctor's office. She adored the staff in Kids & Teens—and they adored her as well.
Because the library is one of the Lawrence family's favorite places, the family wanted to honor her memory at the library through Bea's Garden. The family has strong community ties. They share their story in order to connect and encourage others.

In the eulogy Noah composed for his daughter, he wrote: "One of the greatest gifts Beatrix gave our family was to bring into our lives, on a more intimate level, so many amazing people, and to help us see more clearly depths of compassion and reservoirs of love in others who we'd already known…. Together, we will keep Bea's memory alive, and all of us will be changed for the better from knowing her." 

Bea's Garden Dedication: You're Invited
Sunday, May 19, 2–4 p.m. 

It's the grand opening of the Prairie Patch's newest addition—an insect garden. Celebrate with live music, art activities, and refreshments in memory of Bea. 

Your bag refunds really added up, and the library's Foundation & Friends received a donation of $2,526 from the Whole Foods One Dime at a Time program.

Every time you used your own grocery bag, Whole Foods in Willowbrook donated the 10 cent bag refund to the library. Thank you, Whole Foods, for your continued support of the library.

The library's Foundation & Friends supports the library as an essential center of learning, inspiration, and community pride. We are grateful for your support through programs like Whole Foods program, but you can directly donate to the library to support new services, programs, and technology.

Because the Library serves all residents, businesses and organizations, your charitable donation to the Foundation & Friends is quite literally a gift to our entire community. All gifts to the Indian Prairie Public Library Foundation & Friends are fully tax-deductible, as allowed by law. Please consider making a donation today!