This story originally appeared in the Foundation’s 2018 Report to Donors. Find the full publication here. Apple Washington, director of South Seattle’s A 4 Apple Day Care, says the literacy program she offers to the 12 kids in her care started with her young son. When he went to preschool, he came home with a … Continued

When reflecting on what civic courage means to her, it came naturally for Ruth Tedla to think of the Botswanan philosophy of Botho: “I am because you are.” Born in Ethiopia and raised in Botswana before moving to Shoreline two years ago, Ruth incorporated this spirit of interconnectivity and community into her winning essay for … Continued

Seattle has always been a “city of literature” – it’s the most-educated big city in the United States and the second-most literate, and also home to writers from Richard Hugo to Octavia Butler to Ijeoma Oluo. Indigenous people of the Salish Sea have carried a storytelling tradition over thousands of years. In October 2017, UNESCO … Continued

A panel of distinguished authors have selected the three winners of the 2019 Stim Bullitt Civic Courage Scholarship. Ruth Tedla, Kristin Hong and Alex Huynh have each earned tuition support from this scholarship fund with their essays about local civic leaders. Now wrapping up its sixth year, the scholarship honors the legacy of the late … Continued

Foundation donor and Legacy Society member Janet Daggatt writes book reviews that are often published in The Readers Exchange. Recently, she read and weighed in on a recent favorite of The Seattle Public Library Foundation’s CEO, Jonna Ward: ‘Palaces for the People’ by Eric Klinenburg. 233 pages, Crown Publishing, 2018. In July 1995, Chicago suffered … Continued

Paulina’s three children counted down the days until the South Park Branch of The Seattle Public Library reopened June 10. Living just a block from the branch, the South Park library is a near-daily part of her family’s routine. She goes there to get some work done while her kids read books and use the … Continued

In a world where kids can access infinite entertainment on screens large and small, The Seattle Public Library’s 100th anniversary Summer of Learning program asks Seattle’s youth to perform one seemingly simple task: look at the bugs. The theme of this year’s Foundation-supported Summer of Learning program, which kicked off June 24, is “Explore Your … Continued

Wella recently moved to Seattle from Kansas to seek a more robust queer community. And she found one earlier this month – thanks in part to the Library. She says she’s still finding her place as a young queer woman in a new city, but after a friend invited her to Legendary Children at Seattle … Continued

Thank you for your fantastic support during Library Giving Day and GiveBIG! More than 2,000 library supporters have stepped up to support the Foundation during Library Giving Day (April 10) and GiveBIG (May 9), helping to fund the purchase of more than 11,000 books to give away to kids and teens throughout the summer. The … Continued