Kidlit for Los Angeles Fundraising Auction

 From the press release:

The children’s publishing industry is uniting to support a fundraising initiative launched by four picture book authors in response to last week’s devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. Kidlit for Los Angeles—founded by Caroline L. Perry, Charlotte Offsay, Tara Luebbe, and Jocelyn Rish—has been flooded with donations from authors, illustrators, and industry professionals.

Top auction items include a complete set of signed Diary of a Wimpy Kid books with an original sketch from creator Jeff Kinney; a virtual school or book club visit from Wings of Fire author Tui T. Sutherland; virtual school visits from Kate DiCamillo, Alan Gratz, Lisa Moore Ramée, Bob Shea, Ben Clanton, Scott Magoon, Kelly DiPucchio, and Adam Wallace; signed books from Suzanne Collins, Donna Barba Higuera, Daniel Nayeri, and Eric Rosswood; original art from Vashti Harrison and Pete Oswald; and exceptional contributions from editors, agents, and other industry professionals.

“I reached out to Charlotte to see if we could channel our sadness into something productive,” says Perry, a Los Angeles-based author. “I have friends who lost their homes in the fires, and this tragedy has impacted so many.” After putting out a call for donations, Perry says the team was “overwhelmed” by the support they received. Illustrator Sydney Hanson designed the Kidlit for Los Angeles logo while evacuated from her home. “We turned to our networks,” says author Offsay, who is also an Angeleno. “And everyone wanted to help.”

The online auction will run from January 20 to 26, raising funds for the California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Relief Fund, the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, and the Animal Wellness Foundation’s Wildfire Relief Fund. “We have so many incredible items,” Luebbe says, with Rish adding: “There’s something for everyone. Please come and bid!”

ONLINE AUCTION SITE  

Where proceeds will go:
– California Community Foundation: Wildfire Relief Fund: calfund.org
– Los Angeles Regional Food Bank: lafoodbank.org
– Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation: https://supportlafd.org/
– Animal Wellness Foundation Fire Relief Fund: https://www.animalwellnessfoundation.org/

About Kidlit For Los Angeles
We are a group of kidlit creators who have been heartbroken by the apocalyptic scenes in Los Angeles. Many of us are proud Angelenos, with friends and loved ones who have suffered crushing losses. We are looking to help raise desperately-needed funds for wildfire relief efforts in the many communities that have been impacted.

Fundraiser Organizers:
Caroline L. Perry: www.carolinelperry.com
Charlotte Offsay: www.charlotteoffsay.com
Tara Luebbe: www.beckytarabooks.com
Logo design by Sydney Hanson: https://www.shannonassociates.com/sydneyhanson
Follow Kidlit for Los Angeles on Instagram (@kidlitforlosangeles) for updates.

Buttons for Bibliophiles – Teens, TABs and Fundraising

Submitted by Emily Sanders, Teen Services Librarian, Barrett Memorial Library, Williams Bay

Examples of some of the Buttons for Bibliophiles - submitted

It is my goal every day to create an atmosphere in my library that is inviting and exciting for the teens in my area. Teens are interesting for a number of reasons, one being that they are in a very unique place in life…  Not quite adults, but certainly not children. They are constantly experiencing the world in new and exciting ways.  I love talking with teenagers, I love hearing their opinions, and I love watching them grow into themselves. I wanted to make sure when a teen walked through our doors they felt like they were welcome.  In many cases my teens had something to say about things they wanted to see happen in our Library. With that being said, it felt like the natural next step was to start a Teen Advisory Board.

Our teens have great ideas! Some of them are as simple as asking for a cork board to post ideas on, others are larger than life and require a much larger budget than I have… but I never want to flat out say no. This is where the idea of fundraising came from. We had invested in a button maker a few summers ago. We would bust it out for programming every once in a while but for the most part it lived in our craft closet. 

We started making buttons in February of 2016, around Valentine’s Day.  We had one T.A.B meeting devoted to button designs, and creations! They decided to call their fundraiser “Buttons for Bibliophiles.” The teens were coming in after school on non-meeting days because they had an idea for a button. Soon, we had teens who had never stepped through our door come to buy buttons.  We have a few teens who are photographers who now turn their art into buttons that we sell up at the front desk.  

submitted

We had a Teen Advisory Board lock-in last July where the teens met at the library after hours and made buttons. We blasted music, ate lots of junk food, and designed cool buttons. Some kids worked together, others wanted to work solo. We utilized every computer in the library, and by the end of the night we had a new batch of buttons. We plan on doing this every semester to keep our collections fresh. Making these buttons also offers me new insight into our teens, what they like, and who they are.

Not everyone is interested in buying buttons but most people ask what they are for. I love talking to our community about the work the teens do for our library. We have pizza at every meeting and because of the “Buttons for Bibliophiles” fundraiser the teens are able to supply it out of their budget.  

I believe in giving our teens some ownership over what happens in our library so at the beginning of each semester I ask the teens what project they want to lead, this year it’s a Harry Potter Party in the beginning of December. The teens are in charge of decorations, food, and activities. They are able to dip into their funds and can buy whatever they want for their event.

Buttons for Bibliophiles has been a great source of fun and creativity for our teens!