Nonprofit Spotlight: Friends of the Leland Library
by Bambi Weavil

Have you ever visited the Leland Public Library and wondered, “Who exactly are the ‘Friends of the Leland Library’?” The Friends of the Leland Library started in 1999 as a result of the Leland Library wanting to start a children’s program. Lisa Milligan, Leland Library’s Branch Manager, approached Jean Rhodes, one of Belville’s Town Commissioners, about the program, and Rhodes immediately went out, solicited funds to start the program and began to invite others to join her. But this was only the beginning. The Friends of the Leland Library, which was formally organized in 2001, now has an estimated 150 members.

Wayne Carver is currently the president of the Friends of the Leland Library. He says that 20 to 50 members are actively involved in different aspects of the organization, including management and volunteering. The group holds three general meetings a year, in February, June and November. The November meeting includes the election of officers and directors for the upcoming year. The board of directors meets in January, March, May and September and other times as needed throughout the year.

The Friends of the Leland Library for the first time, will hold two book sales this year to help generate more income for Library needs.

The Spring Sale, which was held May 4 and 5, 2007, was very successful, bringing a little more than $2,000 for the Friends. The regular book sale is held in November, this year on November 2 and 3 from 9 am to 5 pm. A perk for being a Friends member includes a special, members-only preview sale on Thursday, November 1 from 4 to 7 p.m.

In addition to book sales, membership fees financially support the Friends of the Leland Library. Currently, individual and family memberships cost $10, patron memberships are $25, sponsorships are $50 and benefactors are $100.

Carver says that there are several ways local residents can support the Friends of the Leland Library: Keeping an active membership, participating in book sales and volunteering at the local Leland Library.

“We have a volunteer coordinator who coordinates our volunteer work at the library,” says Carver, “which brings up a real key service to the library — and that is volunteers. Volunteers are the very heart and backbone of the Friends group. Their work in the library and on the book sale is an essential part of what we accomplish as a Friends group.”

Financial support to the Friends group, as well as working closely with other Friends groups in Brunswick County, makes special events possible for the entire community. A luncheon and fashion show by Coldwater Creek that was held in late September at Sea Trail Plantation’s Grand Ballroom raised money toward the collective effort to bring author Robert Inman to the Southport Community Center in April 2008. Inman, a novelist, screenwriter, playwright and essayist, lives in Boone and Charlotte, North Carolina, and writes about small-town America.

In the history of the Friends of the Leland Library, there have been some pleasant surprises from unexpected corporate resources.

“I think the biggest surprise came when Wal-Mart opened,” says Carver. “I was told Wal-Mart was selecting some local charities to donate to at their grand opening and they would need our tax exempt number. It came time for the opening, and I was notified to be there. Thinking about it ahead of time, I thought they were giving us $200. It came time for the money to be given out and there were three groups involved. I was called up to receive ours and Mark, the Wal-Mart manager, presented us a big check for $3,000. All I could say was, ‘I am shocked speechless, this is great.’ We used the money to buy new shelving for a youth corner and to replace upholstered chairs with new heavy-duty wooden chairs.”

For more information and to join the Friends of the Leland Library, who keep literacy active in the community, please contact the Leland Library at (910) 371-9442.