Seven municipal libraries in East Parry Sound are opening a new chapter in community service.
All thanks to a $3,000 grant from District 6 Parry Sound of the Retired Teachers of Ontario(RTO), the libraries are expanding services in music, healthy living, early literacy, cooking and art.
The funding is part of RTO’s annual Project – Service to Others. Districts apply for individual education-related or other community project initiatives that support a local, national or international program. Up to $4,000 per project is available.
Each fall, a committee of RTO members assesses the merits of each Project submission.
For 2018, RTO funded 22 projects for a total of almost $80,000. These projects range from a reading space for primary students to elder abuse education support to sanitation improvements for a school in Tanzania.
Many RTO members are already involved with the Parry Sound libraries as volunteers. District 6 talked to the seven libraries to see what sort of small project would enhance their service delivery. The RTO-funded project will cover the purchase of musical instruments, snowshoes, equipment for walking trails, literacy materials, cooking materials and art materials.