Matt and Brooke Gridley in Honor of Sisi and Cher Gridley |
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"Last year our family was able to buy our first home a couple blocks from the Garfield library branch. We moved in with our one year old the week shelter in place started and have been eagerly awaiting the library’s reopening. We’ve since had another baby and are looking forward to watching our daughters grow and learn alongside the rest of the community with the resources the library provides. We are thrilled to be able to contribute to the renovations and play a small part to improve an important neighborhood institution for future generations." -- Brooke and Matt Gridley
These are the words of doting parents who made a gift in honor of their children. The names will be included on the donor wall at the Garfield Park Branch Library with the names of other donors who gave $1,000 or more.
Tribute gifts are a lasting way to honor the people we love.
In this newsletter, we'll showcase just a few of the tributes our generous donors have made to honor or memorialize loved ones and community leaders. You are invited to participate in a community tribute or honor a loved one. This year's initiative to build or renovate three more libraries creates unique opportunities to contribute to these community hubs and leave a meaningful legacy. A list of all capital campaign donors is updated weekly on our website and will be included in the 2021 annual report, as well. |
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Martha and Patrick Dexter: Adult Reading Area at Garfield Park Library in Memory of Carolyn Miller |
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Carolyn Miller visited the Garfield Park Library every week for 40 years. It was one of the centerpieces of her life. Having a career as a librarian, Carolyn appreciated the value of a neighborhood library, and as a library patron she loved the collection, the location, the access to the whole Santa Cruz Libraries systems that Garfield Park offered, and the friendly staff and neighbors.
Given her devotion to Garfield Park, Carolyn’s daughter and son-in-law, Martha and Patrick Dexter, decided to honor her memory with a gift to dedicate the Adult Reading Area in her name.
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We have encouraged friends and other family members to continue to contribute to the capital campaign for Garfield Park in memory of her. |
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Martín and Virtudes Gómez: Donor Wall at Aptos, Branciforte, and Garfield Park Libraries in Memory of Eleanor Torres Gómez Valdespino |
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I lost my mom last January. She had just turned 90 on December 25th the previous year. Born and raised in Chicago, she spent most of her adult life in southern California raising four boys. The oldest sibling, I moved her to Santa Cruz with my wife's help, after she was diagnosed with late term Alzheimer’s dementia and we eventually moved her into an assisted living home near the Branciforte branch library. I visited often and together we would take walks in the neighborhood occasionally stopping in the library.
When I joined the Friends of the SCPL, I knew that giving a gift to the capital campaign in memory of my mom was the right thing to do. My mom made many sacrifices for me and my brothers. Honoring what she meant to me as part of the capital campaign and my family was an easy decision to make.
I want to be able to walk into the library, see my mother's name on the wall, and remember everything she did for me and my siblings.
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Debby Peronto: Teen Garden at Aptos Library,
in Memory of Joanne Peronto, who loved libraries and gardens
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Joanne Peronto was born and raised in a small town in Wisconsin. Her mother and grandmother were teachers in a rural one room school house. A love of books and libraries was a part of what she was and passed on to her three children.
One of my earliest memories is of weekly bike rides to the library behind my mom and brother, who shared a converted bike with a handmade child's seat. The trip was an hour each way and we could stay as long as we liked and have as many books as we could carry - for free!
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The teen garden will be a memorial that my mom would have loved to be able to share with the Aptos community!
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Allen and Shirley Ginzburg:
Louis Sapiro Adult Reading Patio at Aptos Library
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Louis Herman Sapiro [1927-2012] was a thrifty bachelor who loved folk dancing, classical music concerts, and brisk daily walks in his Los Angeles, California neighborhood.
He was proud of his nine nieces and nephews, but took special interest in me and my four sisters. He provided fatherly guidance and ensured that each of us completed higher education.
We honor his memory with this gift.
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Gale Farthing and Jim Bourne: Donor Wall at Aptos
in Memory of Merritt Taylor and Emily Galli
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Merry and Emily were both librarians in Santa Cruz for many years, and made many contributions to our library system. They were good friends and beloved colleagues, and I wanted to be sure that their memories stayed in the library that they loved and supported. |
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Mike Rotkin Fireplace at the Garfield Park Library |
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A little-known fact is that Mike Rotkin — longtime Santa Cruz city council member and multi-term mayor — developed his local organizing chops as leader of a grassroots campaign to rescue the Garfield Park branch from permanent closure.
In the summer of 1978, after the passage of Prop 13 drastically reduced funding for public services throughout California, it was announced that the much-loved Garfield Park library would be closed as a cost-saving measure.
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This was a shock to local residents, who had come to treasure the little library that served the entire neighborhood, including as a gathering place for a multi-racial group of seniors and after-school resource for neighborhood kids.
Mike led an intense grassroots effort with hundreds of Westside residents and ultimately persuaded the City Council to reopen the Garfield Park library for good. This experience led to additional successful organizing, and inspired Mike to run for City Council in 1979. He served on the council for six terms over a span of thirty-plus years, and represented the City on the SCPL governing board throughout that time. Mike’s commitment and strategic leadership was critical as the system met challenges of funding, aging facilities, technology, and expanding services.
Today, we are raising $20,000 to name the fireplace at Garfield Park in Mike's honor.
Senator John Laird
Carol Fuller
Don Lane
Ceil Cirillo
To support this tribute, visit https://fscpl.org/capitalcampaign-donate and choose Capital Campaign for Garfield Park from dropdown menu; make sure to select "I would like to dedicate this donation" and type Mike Rotkin under "Tribute Name."
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Allison Endert Memorial Children’s Room
at the Branciforte Library
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In June of last year, we were devastated by the loss of our dear friend, Allison Endert. Allison dedicated her life to public service, driven by her innate sense of social justice and her desire to make our community a more equitable and nurturing place, particularly for children and families.
As Allison’s closest friends, we wanted to honor Allison’s all-too-short life, with a lasting tribute and one that reflects her core values and beliefs. We wanted a way for her children, family, and friends to memorialize and honor her in years to come.
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By naming the Allison Endert Memorial Children’s Room at the Branciforte Library we not only honor her memory, dedication, and passion but help to support a worthy renovation project that will benefit the community she loved so much. We are raising $115,000 to name the Children's Wing at Branciforte in Allison's memory.
Rachel Dann
Deanna Sessums
Melissa Whatley
To support this tribute, visit https://fscpl.org/capitalcampaign-donate and choose Capital Campaign for Branciforte from dropdown menu; make sure to select "I would like to dedicate this donation" and Allison Endert under "Tribute Name."
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A Word from the Executive Director |
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November is traditionally a time of Thanksgiving, and we have so very much to be thankful for. The rain has finally returned, earlier than usual, so we can stop worrying about fire and start thinking about relief from the drought. We are all thankful for our families, and friends, and that we finally seem to be getting the pandemic under control.
Here at the Friends, we are particularly thankful for all of you and your generosity. Thanks to your kindness, and also a major gift from an anonymous donor, we are just shy of 90% of our goal, which is an amazing result and we are grateful to all of you for your involvement.
Last year I lost my dear son, and closest friend, Colin Patrick Cotter. Despite the pain, I am thankful every day for the time he spent in my life, for the closeness and depth of the bond we had together, and for the fact that he was able to serve as Best Man at my marriage in 2019. Diane and I chose to make
our gift to the capital campaign in his memory, and we are thankful that his name will be part of these amazing libraries in the years to come. Others have chosen to honor family members and friends, living and passed, for the joy of knowing that they will all be part of these community spaces we hold dear. I hope you enjoyed their stories.
So, again, my thanks to all of you, and my wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving! Hold your friends, families, and loved ones close, and remember that we are all in this together!
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Bruce Cotter
Executive Director
603-337-5656
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To make your own tribute gift, visit https://fscpl.org/capitalcampaign-donate and choose a branch designation from dropdown menu; make sure to select "I would like to dedicate this donation" and type the name of your honoree under "Tribute Name."
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For more information about donor recognition, please email [email protected] or call 831.427.7716 |
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Want to find out what's going on with our chapters? Learn about Aptos, Capitola, Felton, La Selva Beach, and Scotts Valley, all on our news page!
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You can enter to win this "one of a kind" quilt at the La Selva Beach clubhouse on November 13 at the Grand Opening (Saturday 10-4).
Proceeds will be donated to our capital campaign! The quilt was created by local artist and member of the Library Advisory Commission Mary Ripma! |
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