Design Homes donation kicks off Prairie du Chien library campaign
Randy and Shelly Weeks, of Design Homes, proudly kicked off the capital campaign for the Prairie du Chien Memorial Library expansion project this week with a $125,000 donation. Randy and Shelly said they are pleased to contribute to this project as it will benefit the whole community. The city council has approved the $3 million expansion, while it is up to the community to raise $1.5 million. (Photo by Correne Martin)
The Prairie du Chien Memorial Library capital campaign received an extremely generous kickoff contribution Tuesday from Design Homes. Randy and Shelly Weeks and the Weeks family gave a $125,000 gift to name the children’s reading area in their honor.
Earlier this year, the city announced a $1.5 million capital campaign to match a $1.5 million contribution to the project by the common council.
“Shelly and I are very excited to be part of the library expansion project,” Randy Weeks said. “Like most people in this electronic age, we were not aware of how important the public library is to our community. It is not only a place to read or check out a book, but also a gathering and meeting place and a place for children to go use and see some of the latest in technology. We are excited to see the library expand and grow to meet the needs of this and the next generation.”
The library expansion and modernization project is aimed at bringing the facility into the 21st century with expanded areas for programming and books, as well as quiet reading areas, access to technology, and separation of staff work areas from public areas. The library will also be able to display art and have cultural displays that have not been possible before. The groundbreaking for the project, estimated at $3 million, is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2017.
“Today’s announcement is a tremendous commitment on the part of the Weeks family and their employees to the future of our library,” City Administrator Aaron Kramer said. “What is equally exciting is their request that the donation be used to fund the children’s reading area, one of the most important areas in the library, which will be named for the Weeks family. In the end, ultimately, that is what this project is about—the future readers and patrons of the library, today’s children.”
If you would like more information on the proposed library expansion project, or would like to discuss making a contribution to the capital campaign, contact the library at 326-6211. There are also information and updates on the city’s and the library’s websites and Facebook pages. Every gift to the library is an important step in this process. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
