Friends of Strathcona County Library

Last year’s Valentine raffle was the surprise success of the year. It sold out in days, earning $1,500 for Library programs and needs. We not only want to repeat that success; we want to do better. Instead of 300 tickets, we want to sell 1,000! Instead of $1,500, we’re aiming for $5,000!

Raffles are a significant part of the Friends fundraising activities, with up to 3 raffles a year planned. The Valentine raffle is the first for 2020. Raffles provide more opportunities for more people to contribute more to our community library. But we can’t continue to provide these opportunities without our committed members and volunteers. We don’t know how long 1,000 tickets will take to sell, so we must plan sales right up to Valentine’s Day eve.

Please help make the Valentine raffle and all our raffles a success. How?      

• volunteer your time to sell tickets
• encourage your family, friends, neighbours and colleagues to buy tickets
• encourage your family, friends, neighbours and colleagues to volunteer with the Friends
• join a raffle planning team, when future opportunities arise

Future raffles will provide more opportunities for all our members and volunteers to work with a board member in the planning stages of each raffle. While it is true that “many hands make light work,” sometimes that is not enough. To make the work even lighter, then, the Friends has planning guidelines and resources to assist the raffle planning teams and a raffles coordinator to give additional assistance to each team.

Together we can raise more funds to support our wonderful Strathcona County Library. Let’s make the Valentine raffle 2020 as successful as last year: let’s make it a sell out!

One thousand-sixty-two gifts wrapped, 334 visitors, 340 volunteer hours and $4,172 in donations. That’s over 3 gifts on average wrapped every hour by our busy volunteers and for every visitor. Some days were busier than others of course; as Christmas came closer, the number of visitors and gifts rose. One visitor, only a couple of days before Christmas, left over 100 gifts to be individually wrapped! They were all done in time of course. Thank you to all who volunteered, to all who donated and to the Sherwood Park Mall for partnering with us to provide this service. A special thanks goes to Ron Dick who organized and coordinated the whole service, as well as wrapping many gifts. (more…)

The 2019 Christmas Gift Wrap fund raiser will take place again at the Sherwood Park Mall. We will be there Dec 6 – 8 and then again every day from Dec 13 to Christmas Eve. Gift wrapping is by donation, whatever you can afford or feel the service is worth! Look for us in middle of the mall.

Last year we brought in over $4,500 to contribute to the Strathcona County Library programs. Let’s see if we can raise $5,000 this year! Support the Library while saving yourself time.

But if you do have time and would like to contribute that way, consider volunteering to help wrap. There are shifts that will suit almost anyone. See the volunteer page here. 

Our Casino, held over this past Labour Day weekend at the Camrose Resort Casino, raised $21,182.06 for the Friends of Strathcona County Library. The proceeds will go far in supporting our Library.

Thanks to all who volunteered. You helped make this fundraiser a success.