EIN: 93-269280
Mail donations to:
ICLF
126 E. Main St.
Ionia, MI 48846
Contact us:
ioniaclf@gmail.com
Raising Funds To Move ICL Into The Future
OUR FUNDRAISERS
Saturday, March 15 @ 2 PM
Future ICL - 302 W. Main St. , Downtown Ionia
Women of the Watch, Keepers of the Light with Anna Marck
Women of the Watch, Keepers of the Light,” written and performed by Anna Marck and directed by D.B. Schroeder, is an uplifting 45-minutes of music, laughter, and simple honest storytelling. The play follows Anna as she relives family trips to lighthouses in Michigan, which ignites a passion to share the spectacular stories of various female lighthouse keepers of the Great Lakes. She details the lives of four particular keepers by donning voice and movement. As she steps into these brave women’s shoes, she discovers the tragedy of the hardships they faced and the beauty of their spirits. Each show is followed by a Q and A talkback for an hour long presentation. Anna is a professional theatre artist based in Royal Oak, Michigan. She studied Musical Theatre at Oakland University and spent several years in Chicago writing and performing sketch comedy and working as an actress and teaching artist with theater companies in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and New York.
OUR PURPOSE
The Ionia Community Library Foundation's (ICLF) main purpose is to support the Ionia Community Library (ICL) by raising funds to renovate and relocate the library to the "Future ICL" in downtown Ionia, for operating and maintenance of the library, and for programs, activities or material.
OUR WHY
ICL is currently located in a two-story, 5,500 square foot, Italianate home that has been a library since 1903. Due to space contraints, ICL can only provide basic services to the community while the other libraries in the County are expanding their buildings and improving their services.
Hall-Fowler Home
Current location of ICL
In April 2021, Mercantile Bank donated its 22,000 square foot Ionia facility to ICL.
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The facility:
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has historic value to the community
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fills a huge void in downtown Ionia
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has space to provide the services and programs of a modern library
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provides access for everyone
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is an ideal location for the ICL
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But, only if important modifications and updates are made.
Three separate millage proposals to raise the $6.1 million for the entire two-story renovation project were rejected by the voters, one loss by only 36 votes. Encouraged by a large group of supporters, the ICL Board, staff and an architect devised a one-story plan that would still more than double the library’s current space. The first step was to form the ICLF to raise funds for the new plan.
OUR MISSION
To raise $3.75 million for the new plan through donations, grants and fundraising events:
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a remodel of the first floor of the Future ICL
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repairs to the exterior of the building
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HVAC upgrades
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waterproofing repairs for the roof and the basement
OUR FUTURE
The ICLF would love the opportunity to answer any questions you might have regarding “the Future ICL,” and would greatly appreciate any donation you can make to help revitalize downtown Ionia with a 21st century library that meets the community’s needs.
Contact us: ioniaclf@gmail.com
