2023-2024 Outreach Mini-Grant Recipients Announced
Thank you to everyone who applied for our 2023-2024 Outreach Mini-Grant cycle! We had 12 applicants and our COSAC team approved all 12 applications! We will be funding the following projects:
Seymour Public Library District – Auburn
Project: Increasing Diversity of Collections and Programs with Enhanced Language Resources
The project will increase the diversity of our collections and programming by enhancing our language resources. Our community will have access to new and updated collection materials focusing on Spanish, Ukrainian, ASL, and ESL. We will also offer a conversational Ukrainian class as an introduction to the language and culture of Ukraine.
Awarded: $2,500
Berkshire Free Library
Project: Healthy Senior Living
This Senior Grant’s goals are to support our Senior community’s healthy lifestyle, both cognitive and physical. The library will do this by providing opportunities for Seniors to establish strong community bonds with other Seniors, through activities that will promote cognitive and physical health. Craft activities, cooking, exercise and cooking are all included in the Senior Grant.
Awarded: $1,610
Candor Free Library
Project: Pieces of Wellness Workshop Series
Pieces of Wellness will be a workshop series that offers simple and effective tools that can be used at home to help reduce chronic pain, ease the stress response, and calm anxiety.
Awarded: $1,400
Southworth Library Association – Dryden
Project: Book Club with William George Agency
A book club collaboration with the Southworth Library Association in Dryden and the William George Agency, a residential treatment center for at-risk adolescents to allow the residents to come to the library for a book discussion and related activities.
Awarded: $1,008
Groton Public Library
Project: Wild & Saucy Cookbook Club
The Groton Public Library’s Wild and Saucy Cookbook Club will bring our community together to learn the lost skills of foraging for edible-weeds, education about culinary herbs, preparation of said weeds and herbs, and breaking bread with your neighbor. Our desire is to connect our elder/adult generation with the younger generation and create cross-generational training around local foraging of plants with preparation, cooking, feasting, and ending with a celebration of food. Our plan is to teach lost skills that can be passed down through the generations and create relationships between the generations in our community while having fun with food.
Awarded: $1,260
Phillips Free Library – Homer
Project: Sweet sixty (and up!)
The Sweet Sixty (and up!) program is a social event for seniors to reconnect with other community members after compulsory isolation due to the COVID pandemic. They will have a carefree, fun afternoon with activities and crafts, music, and a book talk. This afternoon is a great opportunity to get in-person help from the staff downloading the necessary apps to use e-items on their phones and laptops. The participants can practice their new skills with staff help if they wish. The bus service from and back to their houses adds to the carefree spirit of the program.
Awarded: $1,410
Interlaken Public Library
Project: Snacks and Dragons
The Interlaken Public Library is proud to offer Snacks and Dragons, an 8-week one-shot Dungeons and Dragons series for teens at the library. Each program provides gameplay, fun and snacks to up to 6 teens per game. Each week has a fresh campaign and characters and is led by an experienced Dungeon Master guide.
Awarded: $850
Peck Memorial Library – Marathon
Project: All Together Now 2023
Peck Memorial Library will be reaching the community of Marathon by helping the village and the town of Marathon with their summer recreation program. Because we are doing this we are able to reach more people that just our patrons to connect them to reading and some of what our library has to offer. We have performers that are for all age levels and some that are just focused on the kids.
Awarded: $1,125
Edith B. Ford Memorial Library – Ovid
Project: Adult Literacy Inclusion
The Adult Literacy Inclusion project focuses on expanding our services and collections to adult and senior patrons that face a variety of barriers. The goal of this project is to alleviate issues related to access and library anxiety through inclusion initiatives.
Awarded: $900
Ulysses Philomathic Library – Trumansburg
Project: Library at the Laundromat
Ulysses Philomathic Library, in partnership with Colonial Laundry, has created Library at the Laundromat, a literacy corner at the local laundromat in Trumansburg. With child-sized furniture, early literacy toys, and books, both donated and purchased, UPL seeks to engage with children and support early literacy, spreading our love of learning to community members outside the library walls.
Awarded: $2,200
Springport Free Library – Union Springs
Project: Memory Games for Seniors
The Memory Games for Seniors” project is meant to provide a resource for caregivers and families of patients suffering from dementia. Families may check out, and bring items home to stimulate and bring enjoyment to those with dementia.
Awarded: $500
Waterloo Library & Historical Society
Project: Integrated Crafts
The Waterloo Library & Historical Society will be providing take and make crafts and art kits for the residents of group homes, seniors and living facilities. Take and make kits may include painting, vinyl, and wood projects, sewing, and other creative arts and crafts. Registration required to participate in this program.
Awarded: $2,340
Information about the Outreach Mini Grant
The review team is made up of our 6 member Coordinated Outreach Services Advisory Council (COSAC). The role of COSAC is to advise the Finger Lakes Library System’s Outreach Department, assist in the evaluations of its coordinated outreach activities, and to promote collaborative efforts and partnerships. The Council is comprised of a mix of library staff and representatives from local human service agencies and institutions who serve our targeted outreach populations. We are always looking for new members. Please contact Jenny Shonk at jshonk@flls.org for more information on joining the council.
Funding was made possible for these grants through the New York State Library’s Coordinated Outreach Services Program. Under New York State Education Law, §273 (1) (h) (1), and Commissioner’s Regulations §90.3, Public Library Systems provide Coordinated Outreach Library Services directly and through their member libraries to New Yorkers who are most in need and who often are not regular library users. More information about the program can be found at www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/outreach.