$5,000 grant to provide activities to underserved groups in Gilman community

During the pandemic, the underserved groups in and around the Gilman community became even more removed from community activities. With the support of a $5,000 grant from Wisconsin Humanities, Western Taylor County Public Library will be able to provide outreach to these groups.

Through P.O.P. – Pandemic Outreach Project - Western Taylor County Public Library will provide pick-up and delivery service of books and other materials to Amish and Old Order Mennonite schools, home-schooling groups, and senior citizens, especially the homebound. Activities to be funded by the Wisconsin Humanities Recovery Grant are purchases of both returnable and non-returnable materials, staff time for handling of materials to include delivery and pick up that is not included in the regular operations of the library. Also included in the project are funds for additional library materials geared towards the target groups along with funds for replacement for lost or damaged materials. We will also provide an opportunity for follow up on how the project is working for them and/or what improvements could be made with the program in order to serve them better.

Western Taylor County Library is located in the village of Gilman, on the western side of Taylor County. Our expansion project was completed in 2019, providing our community with a larger selection of resources, community meeting room, public computers, WIFI, a children’s section, and a comfortable sitting area. Exciting events at Western Taylor County Public Library include the Summer Reading Program, complete with a petting zoo, virtual story time and story time at the library! We recently had several visitors from the Gilman School - Kindergarten through Fourth Grade classes for Story time with Mrs. Claus! Visit our Facebook page or website to see what’s happening at the library!

This grant was made possible by the Wisconsin Humanities. Wisconsin Humanities is a non-profit organization whose mission is to strengthen the roots of community life through support of educational and cultural programs that inspire civic participation and individual imagination for communities across Wisconsin. The funds were provided by the National Endowment of the Humanities and potentially other funders.

You can find more information about Western Taylor County Public Library and what’s happening there on their website - https://www.gilman.lib.wi.us/.