'Friends' step in to raise funds for library expenses

Students and Bloomington residents thinking of dining out today and Wednesday might give particular consideration to a dinner at Lennie’s.

From 4 p.m. to close, 20 percent of the tab at Lennie’s restaurant will go to the Friends of the Library program that funds many of the resources Monroe County Public Library provides.

“It’s good food for a good cause,” Friends of the Library president Karen Franks said.
“When you dine out, you’ll know that you’re in good company with library supporters, and you’ll also get a good meal.”

Franks said they do this fundraiser to support local businesses by bringing in customers mid-week and build a community of library supporters.

For about nine months out of the year for the past three years, the Friends have partnered with local restaurants such as Lennie’s, the Village Deli and other Bloomington favorites in order to bolster financial and community support for the Friends program.

Mary Jean Regoli, secretary of the Friends of the Library, said a night of restaurant support on average raises about $125 for the library, but every dollar counts when it comes to funding the library’s many resources.

From summer reading kits for children to job support and reading lessons through the Volunteers In Tutoring Adult Learners (VITAL) program, the library houses many programs important to the Bloomington community.

“The library is a tremendous resource for the whole community,” Regoli said. “A huge percentage of the county’s population has library cards and relies on the library for many things.”

The Friends of the Library program assists the library financially through its bookstore, found on the bottom floor of the library, and through its membership program.

Additional events, such as “Dine and Donate,” are auxiliary in ensuring the library has
the funding it needs, Franks said.

“We exist solely to support the library,” Franks said. “From crayons to computers, we help supply what the library needs in addition to government funding. It’s like frosting on the cake.”

Franks said Lennie’s is generous to be participating in the fundraiser for two days rather than for one evening, giving supporters more time to make a trip to the restaurant.

Those interested in supporting the MCPL can print or pick up the necessary flyer at the library or online at monroe.lib.in.us/friends and bring it to the restaurant.

Whether it means saving room for dessert or ordering that extra glass of wine, the tabs of library supporters at Lennie’s will go toward a community cause, Franks said.