New Rochelle Public Library Foundation Cuts the Ribbon on Children’s Garden Space
Despite the autumn chill in the air the New Rochelle Public Library is abloom: An underutilized outdoor area has been transformed into a beautiful new Children’s Garden, creating an outdoor learning space where curiosity, creativity and community can take root. Elected officials and community leaders were on hand as the New Rochelle Public Library Foundation hosted a ribbon cutting event for the new Children’s Garden at the NRPL on Wednesday, October 29th.
“Many of our youngest library visitors do not have back yards, and now they do,” said NRPL Foundation co-President Stephanie Tomei. “This new garden space is their backyard, a space for connection, learning, and enrichment.”
NRPL Director Eugenia Schatoff agreed, adding “The Children’s Garden reflects our commitment to creating spaces where young minds can explore, imagine, and grow. It’s a beautiful extension of the Library’s mission to nurture lifelong learning and strengthen our connection with the community.”
The Children’s Garden was created to accommodate growing demand: Each year the New Rochelle Public Library welcomes more than 26,000 children and family members to nearly 1,000 programs that spark imagination, learning and joy. That means that the Children’s Room is often stretched for space, and during the COVID-19 crisis the need for an outdoor space became undeniable. In response the New Rochelle Public Library Foundation went to work, partnering with the City of New Rochelle and NRPL staff to secure a competitive $250,000 ARPA grant to fund construction.
“While $250,000 is a lot of money, much of it you cannot see,” explained Stephanie Tomei. “A lot of money went into electrical, drainage, and dealing with remediation of an underground tank. So while we have a beautiful new space, many of the dollars spent on this project are not visible to the eye. That’s why tonight we are launching a campaign to complete the vision, recreating the magic of the wonderful children’s room OUTSIDE, where learning will bloom and children will thrive.”
The vision for the Children’s Garden is a space that grows with the community, offering expanded space for the Children’s Room that will accommodate performances, family programs and creative workshops. Tomei added that thanks to an anonymous donor and support from M&T Bank, the campaign is already halfway to its goal of raising $110,000 needed “to bring this space to life. We are looking to our supporters to meet our goal in the next six months.” To make a donation visit https://bit.ly/4hAAiOQ
In her remarks Tomei also recognized that New Rochelle Public Library has additional children’s space: “We are fortunate that in addition to the Children’s Room at the Main Branch downtown we also have the Huguenot Children’s Library up the road, which is truly a treasure in our community. The HCL exists because of devoted community members, and we are building on that legacy by forming a committee of HCL supporters to help us gather ideas and information about how HCL can play an even greater role in the community.”
“The children of New Rochelle are so fortunate to have two amazing library spaces and we are excited about their futures.”
Established in 1993, the New Rochelle Public Library Foundation has raised more than $3 million for the New Rochelle Public Library; in addition, stepping in as a matching funder, the Foundation has been able to leverage its support to bring in an additional $960,000 dollars in New York State grants. These funds have been used for significant capital investments, including the purchase of computers for public access to the Internet; renovation of the reference and information service area; refurbishing of the lobby; creation of a teen area; development of a local history room; creation of a Business Opportunity Center, Quiet Reading Room and Community Conference Room; plus renovations to the Ossie Davis Theater and other areas, including a new circulation desk.
The Foundation also supports discounted passes for area museums, teen summer programs, childhood language-learning materials and other initiatives that enrich the lives of New Rochelle residents.
The NRPLF is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. For more information visit our website: www.nrplfoundation.org or contact Executive Director Nina Robertson by phone at 914-813-3726 or email at nrobertson@nrplfoundation.org .