Fundraisers can be stuffy affairs. Auctions. Paddle raisers. Hefty ticket prices. Ceremonies. Read Like the Dickens—Jefferson County Library Foundation’s 2015 version of its annual Rare & Novel Night—is a little different.
“It’s always a risk taking a 14-year-old event and putting a new spin on it,” said JCLF Executive Director Jo Schantz, who is in her first year running the organization, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year. “But it seemed like it could use a fresh coat of paint.”
Schantz started with simplifying the fundraiser. Last year, the event featured a silent auction, live auction and paddle raiser. This year, the main event will be great entertainment. Why the change in tactics?
“We have great businesses and organizations in Jeffco that have supported this year’s Rare & Novel Night,” Schantz said, “which means the event itself can focus more on community engagement, while also raising funds for our library.”
RE/MAX , Pinkard Construction, Little Bear Inn, Bandimere Speedway, Etkin Johnson Real Estate Partners, Martin & Martin Consulting Engineers, the Jefferson County Public Library Board of Trustees and Solera National Bank are just a few of this year’s sponsors that have stepped up to the plate to support the Foundation and the Jefferson County Public Library, in turn.
This show of support has allowed the Foundation to introduce entertainment into an event schedule that would typically be dominated by auctions. The silent auction will be serenaded by the holiday sounds of The Original Dickens Carolers, for example, and the Olde English-style buffet will be finished with A Christmas Carol in Six–No Five Parts, a play written and performed by the Red Rocks Community College Theatre Arts & Dance Department.
“I’m really looking forward to Read Like the Dickens,” said JCLF Board Chair Tami Bandimere-Shrader. “Just think—you can have fun while supporting our Foundation and our libraries—what could be better ?”
Read Like the Dickens: A Rare & Novel Event will take place on November 12, from 6 – 9:30 p.m., at Baldoria on the Water, in Lakewood. Tickets may purchased on the Foundation website, or by calling 303-403-5078.