Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Happy Love Your Library Month! This is the time of year when your donation to the Swissvale Library will be matched by the Jack Buncher Foundation.
I’m proud of the services that our library staff provides, and I want to share with you some Swissvale Library programs that help children, specifically with school readiness and social development.
- Kids who read during the summer keep their reading skills. Our 2024 Summer Reading Program encouraged 245 children and their families to read. Thank you to Chelsea at Dari-Delite who provided a highly motivating reward of an ice cream cone or sundae to everyone who read five books.
- Having books in the home increases children’s academic success, vocabulary, attention and even job attainment. The library gave away more than 500 free books at Dari-Delite, Carl’s Café, Rankin Community Center, the Farmers Market in Swissvale, and Woodland Hills Community Day.
- Children practiced valuable social skills while enjoying library activities including summer silliness, mosaic making, comic camp, summer book club, a life skills class, nature programs, and collage making. In all, 330 children and young people took part in these programs.
Of course, I know you want to know about the renovation. While there have been delays, the GOOD NEWS is that we are close to starting Phase 1, which includes the work needed to get the outside of the building ready for the elevator: the leaking roof, pointing and waterproofing the outside of the building, and replacement of the front steps.
The goal for this Love Your Library campaign is $25,000. Your donation to the Love Your Library campaign of any amount – $25, $50, $100, $500, more! – will be used to complete Phase 1 of the renovation. We thank you for your support of this wonderful community treasure.
Donate online or in person or mail us a check payable to the Friends of the Swissvale Library, 1800 Monongahela Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15218.
With thanks,
Kate Grannemann Coluccio PhD, Library Director
