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Appreciation from the Whatcom Community Foundation

We want to share with you a lovely letter we received from the Whatcom Community Foundation for the Ferndale Library.

April 2015,

Mr. Ben Faber
Faber Construction
131 East Grover
Lynden, WA  98264

Dear Ben,

As farmers in rural South Dakota in the early 1900s, my grandparents participated in many barn raisings. While barns were necessary to store food and shelter animals, they were also expensive and labor intensive to build. Because construction typically required more than one family could manage independently, neighbors came together and volunteered to chip in what they could to build barns for each other. In the process, they also built a strong sense of community and interdependence.

The tradition of barn raising continues today. Instead of barns, communities are raising all kind of essential structures and that are too costly and complex for any one entity to complete.

The latest barn raising in Ferndale is your beautiful new library. Historically, completion of the barn ended with a shared meal in celebration of the collective achievement. If my house were big enough, I would invite each of you to share a meal and celebrate the accomplishment. It required every shoulder, creative idea and penny. Most importantly, together we did it! Neighbors helped neighbors and all of your efforts and generosity is being enjoyed daily by thousands in the Ferndale community.

What once seemed like just an audacious and impossible goal is now a beehive of connection and learning. We have seen more people enjoying the library in more ways, including a 25% increase in the number of library cards being issued each month.

On behalf of the Community Foundation, please accept my most sincere gratitude for your help, support and enduring commitment to building this library. Our hope is that this project provides a renewed sense of curiosity about learning and shows what is possible when people come together with a shared purpose.

Please take a few minutes with the enclosed early results of our collective investment in the library. We look forward to working with you in the future, and invite you to call if we can play a role in your personal giving and dreams for making life here even better.

Sincerely,

Pamela Jons
Director of Advancement & Programs

See actual letter here

Fun facts from Whatcom Community Foundation

  • More library card holders! – We went from issuing 150 cards per month to 200 cards per month in the new space
  • More neighbors are enjoying the library! – Attendance has increased by 27% compared to the previous year
  • More community members accessing the internet! – WiFi usage has increased by 27%
  • How many people use the new library on a daily average? – Old Main Street location: ~500; Temporary location: ~700, New Library: 850+, opening day: 1,897, record day: 2,400!

We are very thankful that Faber Construction could play a large part in a project that has such an impact on the community and look forward to the opportunity to do more of the same!

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