FAMILY BOOK CLUB CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF GIVING BOOKS TO KIDS
The Family Book Club celebrated it’s 20th year anniversary on Sunday, September 25th with a group of friends, supporters and volunteers at Gladwin Farm in Ann Arbor. Guests were entertained by storyteller LaRon Williams and Nutshell, an Ann Arbor band.
The Gladwin Barn was a beautiful venue for a fall celebration and was a perfect venue for hanging fabulous a collection of “Storybook Quilts” on loan to us from the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild. Each quilt is a recreation of a quilt found in a children’s picture book. As guests entered the space they were greeted by a vivid, beautifully quilted image of the African folk lore spider Anansi as he is depicted in the children’s picture book, Anansi the Spide:r A Tale from the Ashanti by Gerald McDermott. The Anansi quilt was created by local librarian Judy Schmidt.
Celebrating their 20th anniversary, FBC Board president Jenni Zimmer thanked a crowd of over 100 supporters and volunteers for their continued commitment to helping families develop a love of reading. She noted that although the Family Book Club is a very small organization, it has been successful in reaching many families by partnering with many local service providers. These include public health organizations, pre-schools, affordable housing groups and others that work with low income families who do not have the budget to buy books and often lack opportunities to visit their local libraries.
LaRon Willliams ended the celebration with his entertaining and creative storytelling of an Anansi tale. Mr. Williams performed at the first party for supporters of Baby Book Club nearly twenty years ago.
We thank all the many people who made this celebration a joyful one! Listed below are the names of some of the local businesses who contributed to the party:
A & L Wine Castle, Arbor Farms, Back Alley Gourmet, Busch’s Fresh Food Market, Cakes by Dianne, Caribou Coffee, Great Harvest Bread Company,Hiller’s Markets, Target, and Trader Joe
