Dine & Donate a Great Success!

Thank You To Everyone Who Came Out For The Library

Some of the nicest humans on the planet in this picture!

A short bit of thankfulness to share with you on this day.

Last week, thanks to the work of our Friends of the Library group, our local Applebee’s agreed to a Dine and Donate event. The rules were simple: We’d get a flyer to advertise and give out. Hand that flyer in for eat in or take out during a five hour designated dinner period, and 15% of every penny spent would go back to the library.

We pushed this hard, but we’re a small library and Applebee’s isn’t exactly a ‘local’ entity so we had no idea how this was going to play out.

After work on the evening of our Dine and Donate, I ordered some take out for my family and swung by the Applebee’s to pick it up.

Imagine my surprise upon seeing a full parking lot. The line in the vestibule to get seating was filled with patrons I knew. Nearly every seat in one section of the restaurant was filled with community members I knew. I spent ten minutes just walking around thanking people for taking part.

Yesterday, we learned that the effort earned the library $427. That means, the community had to spend nearly $3,000 during the Dine and Donate event!

It goes without saying that in the current budgetary atmosphere that we’re facing, every penny counts, and we will happily accept and put to good use that money.

Even more so, though, I was relieved and so grateful to see so many of our patrons come out, dozens of them, families, couples, sitting at the bar.

The support meant the world to me and to my staff, gives us hope and optimism for what we try to bring to our community.

I know some of you read this little journal.

So, thank you! Know that I see you, and I appreciate you. There are days that make the work worth every moment. This was one of them. Thanks for being there for us!

Random factoid: Did you know the original name for Applebee’s was Pepper’s? Also, the Applebee’s chain is now owned by IHOP!