Hubbard Library Receives $5,900 Grant for Sensory Garden
HUBBARD, Ohio — The Ohio Children’s Foundation awarded the Hubbard Public Library a $5,900 grant to enhance its Children’s Room Sensory Garden.
The funds will be used to install an awning or shade structure for the garden.
“While Hubbard Public Library’s mission and focus is always to provide access to information and ideas, we also know how important it is for the library to provide our community with opportunities that educate and enrich the whole person,” library Director Lorena Hegedus said in the release. “The past two years have proven more than ever that healthy living includes outdoor activities in surroundings that encourage learning, movement, socialization, and fun.
“In response to this need, Hubbard Public Library’s ‘doors-to-discovery’ have expanded to encompass space beyond the library’s walls, including its Sensory Garden. We encourage our community to use and explore the outdoor areas that beautify the library grounds, and this shade awning provided through the generosity and vision of the Ohio Children’s Foundation will make the space all the more comfortable and attractive for our patrons to enjoy and for library programming to take place.”
The awning will allow individuals, families and small groups to use the garden more frequently, added Mary Anne Russo, children’s librarian.
“Children’s Room staff members endeavor to create ways to expand learning opportunities Beyond Library Walls,” Russo said. “Nature inspires curiosity and exploration while instilling a sense of beauty and serenity. Established in 2015 and funded by donors, the Sensory Garden provides a unique and calming outdoor setting enhanced by a waterfall, chimes, and plants.”
The Ohio Children’s Foundation has awarded more than $15 million to hundreds of nonprofits and organizations that work on behalf of Ohio’s children, including previous grant awards to the library, according to the release. The mission of the foundation is to enhance the lives of children by providing grants to support services for at-risk children and families by helping prepare children for kindergarten, and by advocating for public policy that will positively affect children’s lives, according to the release.
“The Ohio Children’s Foundation is happy to support the amazing efforts of the HPL Children’s Room Librarians,” said Randall Cobb, chief operating officer of the foundation. “I was privileged to come visit late last year, 2021, and their thoughtful dedication to the children they serve is quite evident. The new shade awning will facilitate additional opportunities in the library’s special outdoor space.”
Pictured: Statue at the Hubbard Public Library Sensory Garden (Image: Hubbard Public Library).
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
