By Genine Hopkins
As parents, we all know the strain summer vacations can have on our nerves with the kids home and often complaining of being bored, despite not really missing school yet. It is wonderful to know that there is somewhere that offers kids with the opportunity to keep their reading skills sharp, join groups for making crafts, watch a movie with their friends complete with free popcorn, or just hang out and read. Where is this magical place? It is your local library.
While most of us grew up with access to a library, in rural areas, the funding isn’t as prevalent for these spaces as it is downstate, where corporations like Ford Motor Company, often build and support the local library. Because of this, it is asked that residents of the areas served provide that support. That is what is being asked of readers of this paper for the Marion and Marion Township areas in the coming August primary.
This year, the Marion Library:
hosted a solar eclipse party, with crafts for kids and free glasses to watch the eclipse with on hand,
2provided and will continue to serve as a hub for MREs for kids whose homes may be food scarce, has held monthly movie events for the family that has free popcorn for all,
hosts groups like the Marion Book Club, Dungeons & Dragons enthusiasts, and more,
is holding a Summer Reading program that kicked off with fun filled activities and will run through the end of July,
every week, there is an opportunity for parents to bring their toddler and preschool aged children to enjoy a group reading of a carefully picked out children’s book.
Plus you can rent hot spots for internet,
use their computers and online library databases,
check out newly released books or books from other libraries,
read Michigan papers and magazines.
You can get free seeds from their seed bank to plant your garden!
You can even learn a new language!
The list is endless.
Library Director Sarah Generaux-Maddox has even more in store for next summer should the library receive the needed funding from the passing of the millage in both the Village of Marion and Marion Township.
The Friends of the Marion District Library, the Marion District Library Board, and the Marion Village Council urges everyone to please vote yes in support of keeping the Marion District Library open and ready to serve the community. They thank you in advance for your support on August 6.
