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Klondike, Colony pledge $500k for library
Ongoing campaign to raise $1.5 million for renovations of facility in use since 1996
library campaign
Ron Buholzer, president of Klondike Cheese Co., and John Baumann, president of Colony Brands Foundation, (center) announced Monday a $500,000 challenge pledge to the Monroe Public Library to lead a $1.5 million capital campaign for renovations. The two businesses will match every two dollars donated with an additional dollar up to $500,000 and, if met, provide an additional major contribution. With Buholzer and Baumann are (outside, left to right) Jim Plourde, Monroe Board of Education liaison to the Monroe Public Library Board of Trustees, Dan Harrigan, library trustee, Suzann Holland, library director, and Rev. John Tabaka, library trustee.

MONROE — A $500,000 challenge gift has been pledged by Colony Brands Foundation and Klondike Cheese Co. to lead a $1.5 million capital campaign for renovations to the Monroe Public Library. These businesses will match every two dollars donated with an additional dollar up to $500,000 and, if met, will provide an additional major contribution.

“The library is important to our community,” said John Baumann, Colony Brands Foundation President, in making the announcement. “It is free to everyone and used by people every day for a variety of services, programs and technology. If we can raise more than is needed for renovations, it will provide for additional programs, services and collections.”

Ron Buholzer, Klondike Cheese Co. President, agreed. “The library is the heart of the community, and we all want it to be the best it can be,” he said. “Services provided by the library and the Literacy Council are essential to Monroe’s growth.”

In addition, the two businessmen are also playing an integral part in the overall “Let’s Do Something Extraordinary for Monroe” campaign. Buholzer is a member of the campaign committee and Baumann is serving as a member of the campaign’s Honorary Committee along with his wife, Katie Doyle Baumann, who is also serving on the campaign’s 100 Extraordinary Women Committee.

Baumann and Buholzer said their challenge pledges are designed to involve every member of the community, especially its children, as a way of teaching about giving back. Opportunities for the community to participate will be unveiled in the coming weeks. “It is a community effort,” Buholzer said, referencing the poem ‘We Build on Foundations We Did Not Lay’ shared with the campaign committee: “We are ever bound in community. May it always be so.” Gifts of any size will be matched, Baumann and Buholzer said.

The two point out that libraries are more than just buildings with books, but rather are destinations for lifelong learning and community gatherings. The Monroe Public Library is incredibly busy with more that 13,500 items checked out every month, according to library director Suzann Holland. The computer and technology aspects of the library receive heavy use from both adults, students and children, she said. But it is more than just a resource center, Holland said. Because of its central location, it serves as a popular gathering spot for meetings and community organizations.

Many think of the current facility as the “new library,” according to Holland, and are surprised to learn it is 25 years old. Library services have changed dramatically since the building first opened, she said, especially in terms of technology and renovations are badly needed. The capital campaign will provide a redesigned entry and lobby, additional meeting rooms and storage, renovations to the Literacy Council and the Genealogy areas, flexible space to accommodate more community functions, updated restrooms, enhanced lighting, renovations to the Children’s and Adult Fiction areas and a new Quiet Reading Room.

The campaign was launched with 100 Extraordinary Women. Women from throughout Monroe committed to raise $100,000 by each donating or pledging $1,000 over five years, $200 per year; $18 per month. To date, more than 65 women have joined the challenge; the Monroe Women’s Club has given an additional $10,000. Each woman, or someone she wants to honor or remember will be listed near the renovated Circulation Desk. “We hope this amazing challenge will encourage other women to be part of this initiative,” Holland said.

For additional information, contact Suzann Holland at sholland@monroepubliclibrary.org