by Sarah Walsh, Estes Valley Library Friends & Foundation Development Director

In this season of celebrations, we raise a special toast to those who elevate our quality of life through their kindness. This year has had more challenges and hurdles than we’d have guessed back on New Year’s Day 2020. But a year like this is one that makes generosity shine all the brighter.

Thank you to all the caring souls of our beautiful mountain village. And thank you to our Estes Valley Library Friends & Foundation donors. Your enthusiasm finds expression in two wonderful words: Library Love.

Here is just a little of what Library Love can do:

Year-round, Library Love supports early literacy for kids—paving the pathway for years of future learning. What an important investment! Right now, the Library is distributing Grab & Go kits to get books directly into kids’ hands, including this month’s Polar Express kit.

Library Love builds community through dialogue and shared reading—including One Book One Valley. How exciting to read a compelling book, knowing you’ll be able to share and compare your impressions with friends and neighbors. It happens again this January!

Library Love makes it possible to match readers with the books and materials they desire. One example: the popular Lucky Day Collection, where readers are delighted to discover bestsellers and hot titles awaiting on any given day: no hassles, and a one-week checkout.

Sometimes, Library Love yields immediate benefits in unexpected ways. When donors helped equip the Library Makerspace, we couldn’t have guessed how important it would become in 2020. Those 3D printers went into urgent action last spring, creating parts for face shields used by front-line health care workers throughout our region.

There’s one day each year when Library Love is made especially convenient and simple. When every gift, small or large, goes a little farther, thanks to corporate-sponsor grants.

This Tuesday, December 8, is Colorado Gives Day 2020, a statewide invitation to celebrate and participate in everyday philanthropy through online giving. Contributions can be made on Tuesday, or pre-scheduled anytime in advance, at ColoradoGives.org.

As we celebrate our Library Friends & Foundation donors, we also pay tribute to that cheerful corps of volunteers who operate Cliffhanger Used Books six days a week. They staff Cliffhanger’s counter and process the used book donations—all while keeping the store safe and sanitized for shoppers and their fellow volunteers.

We’re grateful to all who have donated their gently-used books, DVDs and CDs. It means dollars that can be generated through re-sales—while giving those items happy new homes.

Visit Cliffhanger as one of your stops to support Estes Park local businesses. All through December, the History and Biography sections are priced at just $2 each for hardcovers, and $1 for paperbacks, plus tax.

Thank you, Estes Valley, for championing literacy, learning, and community. Together, your Library Love continues to build a better future.