July Comments for a Cause - Little Free Library

It is the first of the month and time to give an update on my Comments for a Cause program.  In the month of June I couldn't get over the local support for La Luz Hispana.  During the month 258 comments were made, equaling a donation of $129 to this remarkable program that is helping and so many families and individuals in Franklin County.  I am very proud that my community provides these resources and support to our community members.

In the month of July I'm looking forward to donating $0.50 for every comment to the international Little Free Library program.  As some of you may know, I worked throughout this year to bring a Little Free Library to Latimer, Iowa and I'm happy to say that we installed the Little Free Library at the beginning of June.

"Take A Book, Leave A Book" today at the Latimer Little Free Library
You can even take a seat and enjoy a book while visiting our location

Latimer, Iowa's Little Free Library

So, what is a Little Free Library?  The Little Free Library movement began in Wisconsin five years ago and now has nearly 12,000 locations world-wide, over 100 of which are in Iowa.  I first read about Little Free Libraries through the "Parade" insert in our newspaper a few years ago and in the last couple of years I have started seeing them in the communities of a couple of my family members.  The traditional Little Free Library is a free-standing structure that kind of looks like an over-sized bird house that is then filled with a collection of books for members of the community or neighborhood to access.  The Little Free Library works by the "take a book, leave a book" philosophy.  When someone goes to the Library and picks out a book, they are asked to replace it with another book.

My love for my community and passion for childhood literacy is what drove me to set up a Little Free Library in the community of Latimer.  Reading is really important to me and raising my kids.  My kids and I read every day and always have books around.  The town of Latimer doesn't have a library and I know there are many kids in town that don't have an opportunity to go to a library, especially in the summer.  So I thought bringing a Little Free Library to Latimer would be great for all the youth of the community, and for the adults who love to read too.

And through this month's Comment for a Cause program I hope to help other small communities that don't have libraries of their own bring a Little Free Library to their town through the Little Free Library Small Town Initiative.  I was very fortunate to receive support from Post Alpha-Bits cereal and the Latimer City Council when setting up my Little Free Library, but I know every small community might not have access to those resources.  So that is why I'm supporting the Small Town Initiative this month.

If you are ever in the Latimer, Iowa, stop by and visit our community's Little Free Library.  It is located in Downtown Latimer on the west-side of Akir Street.  Do you have a Little Free Library in your community?  Be sure to Comment for a Cause all month long to help out this world-wide cause!