Stories of Impact
From Bethany Ceccarelli, with Toni:.
“The Children’s programs have been wonderful for my children. My older daughters learned with Mrs. Cindy about art, artists, and different techniques. They also participated in the summer programs. My son has enjoyed the toddler/children’s programs. He is able to socialize, learn & have fun. He has bonded with Mrs. Varin and others in the children’s dept. We look forward to the programs – they are so creative! We are grateful for all they do & the books we enjoy.”
Venessia Hill (on the left) and Libby Dukay (on the right) have been coming to the New Dawn Inspirational Book Club (led by Kat Stephens, in the center) for almost a year.
“It brings us joy to come to book club because we get to meet new people and read books that we wouldn’t have thought to read otherwise. We hear other people’s perspectives and learn about other opportunities for community engagement.”
From Wendy Gregory:
I have been teaching and tutoring for a long time. The library is my favorite place to tutor students. I am able to reserve a room at the library to work one-on-one with a student. The library provides a quality experience for the children to check out books on their level and to check out interesting books. Children love the privacy and excitement it brings. I love being able to help students at our local library. It is a great experience for all. I love to see the creativity of our kids as they are learning through reading at the library.
From Teresa Nobles:
Since the school year has begun and my kids have started Novel Team and Fun with Science, their school score on star reading and math have jumped. They love coming [to the Northern Wayne Library] on Wednesdays and look forward to [the programs] every other Wednesday.
Antwon Belmer recently received his high school diploma through the Excel High School program sponsored by the State Library of North Carolina. He plans to start college in the summer to get a degree in education. He was a recipient of one of the donated laptops from Hubzone Technology Initiative. HTI is a nonprofit that collects gently used laptops, refurbishes them, and donates them to citizens across North Carolina. WCPL received several laptops from HTI because of the library’s involvement with Our State, Our Work through the Wayne County Pathfinders. HTI allowed the library to distribute the laptops to young adults in order to support their reengagement with work and school.
I’m really grateful for this computer because I thought I was going to have to buy one for school. Now I don’t have to. I was lucky enough to be selected for one. Thank y’all so much.
From Latesha Poindexter…
“[The Career Glow Up event] was perfect and everything that our family was looking for. We know it will help our son move in the right direction.”
From Shay Crook…
The Learning Studio has been very helpful for my children. My oldest has ADHD and he loves exploring the books and resources in the Learning Studio. He’s currently reading a book about a child with ADHD and how to navigate the rigorous requirements of a 5th grade student. The Wonderbooks are really great to help with focus.
Amina graduated from one of the NC Pre-K classes at Bright Beginnings II. Her grandmother states that she saw how Raising A Reader sparked a love for reading in her grandchild. Her grandmother further reported…
She loved visiting the library and using her own card!
Victoria Woodard has been a patron of WCPL’s northern branches for many years. She started using the library’s resources to help her work toward an Associate of Early Childhood Education. We then helped her with her application when she applied for a job at WAGES Head Start – where she subsequently worked for approximately 10 years. When she recently decided to apply for the WCPS system, she came to us for assistance in the application process. She received an offer of employment and is currently waiting for the formalities of the paperwork to be completed.
I feel as I am at home when I’m there and always confident that whatever concern I have they will always do their best in using whatever resources and media to assist me in completing the task.
“I recently attended a tea program at the Southerland-Burnette House in Mount Olive sponsored by the Wayne County Public Library. During the event I made new friends while learning about the history of the home, tea, and Mount Olive. As a history buff, I thoroughly enjoyed the event and for a moment felt like I was part of a Jane Austen novel. I will definitely stay tuned to see what other fun and informative events are upcoming at the library—I’m so glad I attended this one!” —Donna Archer
From Penny Williford:
“Thank you all for your support in helping me reach my Continuing Education goals to renew my nursing license. Also, for helping me update my resume. I got the job! You guys rock!”
From Ashley Aviles:
I visited the library this week on short notice to find books for a USO story time. I specifically chose your location because I knew the staff would help me and as expected they were fantastic! I needed help finding beach themed books for our story time and not only did they help me, they introduced me to the themed story time bags. The bag I checked out was amazing based on the books alone but we loved the added puppets and felt story pieces. The books in the bag were great and made it easy for us to quickly adjust based on the ages of the kids that showed up.
You guys were a life saver and we appreciate your team so much! Being a military family means we move often and part of what helps us settle into a community is finding gems like your library. Your facility, staff, programming, and selection of books means a lot to us and we appreciate everything you all do for our community!
From Grandpa, to Dad, to little ones, this family tree is rooted in the love of reading and attending storytime at the Wayne County Public Library. Three generations, one timeless tradition: a shared love of the library!
