The Friends of the Ottawa Public Library Association (FOPLA) is pleased to announce that in 2019 they donated $410,000 to the Ottawa Public Library (OPL), which is their largest donation for the third year running. These funds enhance OPL’s offerings to the community and are used to purchase furniture, equipment, materials, and support the OPL’s innovative programming.
As a registered charity with the goal to advocate for literacy and community building in Ottawa, FOPLA raises funds for the Ottawa Public Library. They assist the OPL through fundraising and advocacy. Running over 25 used bookstores and sales in library branches across Ottawa with the help of 300 volunteers, FOPLA has donated more than $4 million to OPL since 2003.
“We’ve worked hard as an organization to increase awareness of both our mission and the impact of our fundraising for OPL, so it’s very gratifying for all our volunteers that we can continue to support the Ottawa Public Library in such a meaningful way,” said FOPLA President, Vladimir Uher.
Some of the items purchased by OPL with FOPLA funds in 2019 include the purchase of comfortable seating for several OPL branches. The seating better accommodates the local community, perfect for children and adults alike.
FOPLA helps support many initiatives aimed towards the teenage community in Ottawa. They sponsored OPL’s Awesome Authors youth writing contest and published winning entries in the thirteenth edition of the pot-pourri anthology. These funds also supported programming such as the Tales and Tunes Family Fun Day and special performances during the TD Summer Reading Club.
Proud to sponsor programming in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Calls to Action, FOPLA supports various Indigenous initiatives. Sponsering OPL’s popular Indigenous film series and the visit of Indigenous author and chef, Shane Chartrand, FOPLA’s funds are designed to improve every aspect of the library community.
FOPLA has also provided community input and support to the reveal of designs for the upcoming Ottawa Public Library-Library Archives Canada joint facility and looks forward to continuing to support OPL as they work towards the completion of this landmark city-building project.
“I cannot overstate OPL’s appreciation and gratitude for the support of FOPLA volunteers and the generous donations that so enhance Library programming and add to the customer experience OPL offers to the public,” said Tim Tierney, Chair of the OPL Board and City Councillor for Beacon Hill-Cyrville.
Photo: Friends of the Ottawa Public Library Association Facebook
