Mayo Clinic Needs Volunteers!

Mayo Clinic, that noble network of not-for-profit health providers, needs your help. They are looking for volunteers to be greeters, to help with events and to help with clerical duties. It's one way the clinic keeps costs down, apparently.

If you or someone you know is interested in volunteering, contact Karen Elwood at 715-568-6812 or email her at elwood.karen@mayo.edu. If a responsible teen in your life needs service hours, this could be a good opportunity.

There are volunteer opportunities at locations in Bloomer, Chippewa Falls and Colfax.

AARP NEEDS VOLUNTEERS!

AARP Taxaide of Chippewa, Eau Claire and Dunn Counties is in need of volunteers.

Volunteers do not need to be a member of AARP or even retired to participate. Those who volunteer receive free tax training and are reimbursed on a limited basis for program expenses. Those who take part help taxpayers at sites around the three counties.

AARP also needs greeters who answer questions about the program but do not need tax training.

For more information, visit the AARP Website or call 1-715-271-3243 to speak to the district coordinator.

Cha-Ching Chippewa! 2011

The AARP tax assistance program has crunched the numbers...Those who filed their taxes here at the Chippewa Falls Public Library in 2011 got an average return of $1060.00. The total returns for all those who worked with AARP here total $263,823.00.

The AARP Tax Assistance program is designed for the elderly and low-to-moderate income earners who need some help wading through their income taxes, both state and federal. Be sure to watch this space for announcements regarding next year's tax assistance schedule or check out our website.

By the way, the AARP tax assistance program is all-volunteer. If you or someone you know has any experience preparing taxes or is good with computers, the AARP looks for volunteers and will train those who participate.

National Volunteer Week 2011

It's National Volunteer Week this week and the Chippewa Falls Public Library, like most libraries, has several volunteers who help us keep running. In fact, we have more volunteers, at times, than we have projects for them to work on. Our regular volunteers, however, have regular niches in which they work, show up consistently, work hard and are pretty uplifting presences, every one. I'd like to recognize some of our stalwarts here in this blog entry.

Lucas Endres--The library's resident computer expert, Lucas comes in for several hours per week to work on our computers and computing issues. He is a de facto member of the staff in many ways and never disappoints when it's time to keep the eLibrary alive.

Matt Lyberg--We check thousands of DVDs out each week. The cases lock and unlock for the protection of the material inside. Double checking the discs inside and messing with the locks is, from what I've seen, tedious and time consuming. Each Tuesday and Friday, Mr. Lyberg comes in and takes care of the DVDs--locking and shelving--to keep our most popular commodity moving smoothly in and out.

Beverly Michels--Ms. Michels comes in on Wednesdays to straighten the break room and shelve Young Adult books. She's been doing this for years and we really notice when she is out.

Jean Liedl--Recently moved to the area and shelves books on days when the staff is overwhelmed. Loves the library and really bends her back to the task; we appreciate her contribution.

Kaitlyn Kampion--Ms. Kampion is a high school student who helps out with storytime preparation and other craft and repair projects in the children's department. An upbeat young lady with a forthright manner and the work ethic of a sure future success.

Judy Monarski--Ms. Monarski shelves and straightens and is always willing to do the extra tasks we can't get to. She is an asset indeed.

Karen Grothe--Ms. Grothe was employed by the library for years and retired in 2010. She still comes in to use her still-sharp skills on her own time to keep the library running the best it can.

Sue Elstran--If a book gets damaged enough to be noticeable but is in good enough shape to be used again, we repair it. Ms. Elstran has the skills to mix the glues, bind the spines and press the pages. Her efforts over the years have surely saved the library thousands of dollars.

To these volunteers and any I have let slip my mind: THANK YOU. Thank you so much. You make the library a better place, truly.

We have had other volunteers come and go over the years and applications still arrive regularly. If you or anyone you know is interested in doing some volunteering, contact our volunteer coordinators, Sue Rada & Joe Niese.

Among Friends...

Last night was my first meeting with the Friends of the Chippewa Falls Public Library (see photo above). That's (from left) Carl Miller, Mary Ann King, Jan Joas, Carol Peterson and the big guy is me. We discussed where the group might go in the future and the level of involvement a director might and should have in the regular operations of the group. It's still all open for discussion.

In my experience and estimation, a Friends group has enormous potential to do enormous good, even when the library in question isn't enormous. In a town like Chippewa Falls, there is always the opportunity to tighten and strengthen the bonds which already exist, and a Friends of the Library group can offer not just fund-raising, but FUN-raising opportunities.

Friends groups in some communities have done dog parades, trivia contests, bazaars, motorcycle poker runs, costume contests, etc. The sky is the limit.

So I thank the Friends who are now members and encourage anyone reading this who is NOT a member of the Friends of the Chippewa Falls Public Library to consider joining.

Everyone can have a role to play in the future of the library, after all, and can have a good time doing it. The public library is, truly, ALL YOURS.