“And now a word from our sponsors...”

Back in the day, this was the way that TV shows transitioned to
advertisements, as the show spokesperson introduced ads from
Folgers, Betty Crocker, Pledge, Ivory Snow, or Marlboro. Today, as
back then, it may also be a signal that you have a minute or three to
run to the kitchen for a snack.

I’d like to take this opportunity to talk about our Friends of the Brown
County Library sponsors, and I hope you’ll stick around to hear
(read) the pitch. That’s because, along with you, our donors and dues-
paying members, the support of our sponsors goes a long way toward
making our activities a success. You may not be aware of them all, so
let me take this opportunity to recognize them.

Our supporters of the Give-A-Kid-A-Book (GAKAB) campaign
include both monetary sponsors and helping partners:

GAKAB Sponsors
Nicolet National Bank
St. Augustine Stewardship Fund
Green Bay Packers Give Back
Green Bay Area Retired Men’s Club
Rotary Foundation of Green Bay
Allouez Optimist Club
Brown County Community Women’s Club
De Pere Christian Outreach
Festival Foods
WPS Foundation
Altrusa International of Green Bay
Schreiber Foods

GAKAB Partners
WBAY-TV2
Lion’s Mouth Bookstore
Barnes & Noble

In addition, we also have general sponsors that offer shopping discounts for Friends members:

Membership Support
The Attic coffee shop
Powers Comics and Collectibles
Lion’s Mouth Bookstore

Nicolet Bank stands out in their support. In addition to their funding
contributions and the placement of our donation boxes in their
branch locations, it’s the volunteer efforts of their employees that set
them apart. It’s always encouraging to see the army of Nicolet Bank
employee volunteers in their green shirts (see photo below) setting up
the GAKAB displays and helping to run the semi-annual book sales.

WBAY-TV has provided longtime support to the Friends,
donating production and airtime for our GAKAB public service
announcements, and broadcasting live promotional Noon Show
interviews with our GAKAB and Book Sale organizers.

Altrusa International is an example of a newer GAKAB sponsor. Last
year, they were looking for a way to support a local literacy cause (one
of their organization’s main missions), and they decided that GAKAB
fit right in with that objective.

Powers Comics and Lion’s Mouth also serve as partners for the yearly
Brown County Library Pop ConTM convention, a Library event that the
Friends sponsor. In addition, Lion’s Mouth also helps with GAKAB
by maintaining an in-store donation box, helping shoppers with a
GAKAB Wish List and personal assistance, and providing an online
shopping page on their website.

Each of our sponsors has a special story, and I could go down the list
and thank every one of them. Their invaluable contributions make
GAKAB and our entire mission possible. We encourage readers and
members to support them any way they can.

That being said, there are always more Friends sponsorship
opportunities to help GAKAB as well as our other early literacy
programs, including Born to Read and Stages and Pages. We invite
firms and organizations who have an interest in helping us fulfill our
mission, to consider supporting the Library’s mission for local literacy.

If you are interested in joining the cause, please contact us at
info@browncountylibraryfriends.org for more information.