We can all use some good news about now, right? Here’s some great news for us residents of Peninsula Township. We’ve reported on the new building project and fundraising campaign of Peninsula Community Library (read more here), and now they’ve reached nearly $1.6 million thanks to a recent donation by Tom’s Food Markets in Traverse City.
Tom’s Food Markets has donated $155,000 to the library’s fundraising campaign, bringing the total donations and expected pledges to nearly $1.6 million.
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The ongoing campaign is raising funds for the construction of a new Peninsula Community Library (PCL), to be built on 5.25 acres on the corner of Center Road and Island View Road on the Old Mission Peninsula, north of Traverse City, Michigan.
PCL is hoping to raise $2 million by Jan. 1, 2018 and meet their fundraising goal of $2.5 million by July 1, 2018. Construction will begin in Fall 2018, with the new library opening on August 1, 2019.
As locals know, Tom’s Food Markets has a long history of giving back to the community, and specifically wanted their donation to go towards the Children’s and Teen areas of the new library.
“We are honored and proud to fund the new Peninsula Community Library Children’s and Teen Areas,” says Christy Kuhnke, President of Tom’s Food Markets. “Our leadership-giving remains constant within our current operating philosophy, with an emphasis on enriching the lives of children in our area and supporting various avenues to help create a bright future for them.”
To that end, Tom’s has also offered to renovate the frayed awning on a miniature food market in the children’s area of the current PCL.
In addition to supporting community causes, Tom’s Food Markets also donates truckloads of food to local food pantries each year. “Since we first opened, we’ve believed in supporting our local economy,” says Kuhnke. “Through our initiatives and partnerships, Tom’s Food Markets advocates participating in each community and neighborhood where we do business.”
Tom’s Food Markets is a third-generation locally-owned family business. Tom Deering founded the company in 1946, starting with a small meat market on 11th Street in Traverse City, and expanding to markets at West Bay, 14th Street, Acme, Northport, East Bay and Interlochen.
Tom’s son, Dan Deering, is now the CEO, and Dan’s daughters are current operators of the business; Christy Kuhnke is President and Jane Deering is Corporate Director. Read more about Tom’s Food Markets here.
Peninsula Community Library, one of Peninsula Township’s most beloved institutions, opened on a summer’s day in 1957 and was first housed on the stage of the gym at the new Old Mission Peninsula School. However, its roots date back to 1859, when township residents voted to form a library and house it in a private home until 1910, when the electorate voted to apportion its books among the various Old Mission one-room schoolhouses.
On May 29, 1959, residents voted to establish Peninsula Community Library as a township library under the requirements of the State of Michigan. Today, Peninsula Community Library is still an independent township library with its own elected governing board of trustees, operating by contract within and a part of the Traverse Area District Library. The new building will allow PCL to expand its role in the community and serve all its citizens.
Visit the PCL website and Facebook page. For more information about the new Peninsula Community Library, donations and naming opportunities, please contact Vicki Shurly, PCL Director, (231) 223-7700, [email protected]; or Heatherlyn Johnson Reamer, PCL Board President, (231) 360-7081, [email protected].
Way to go, PCL! And thank you, Tom’s Food Markets! We’re that much closer to our new Peninsula Community Library on the Old Mission Peninsula.
A NOTE FROM JANE: I started Old Mission Gazette in 2015 because I felt a calling to provide the Old Mission Peninsula community with local news. After decades of writing for newspapers like the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, and magazines like Family Circle and Ladies' Home Journal, I really just wanted to write about my own community where I grew up on a cherry farm and raised my own family. So of course, I started my own newspaper. Because the Gazette is mainly reader-supported, I hope you'll consider tossing a few bucks my way if I mention your event, your business, your organization or your news item, or if you simply love reading about what's happening on the Old Mission Peninsula. Check out the donation page here. Thank you so much for your support. -jb
