Friends Help With Girl Scout Gold Award Project
(L:-R): Friends Book Sale Chair Sandie Huelsman, Book Shop Chair Maureen Hollis, Girl Scout Medha Regmi, Irmo Youth Services Librarian Becky Stokes, Friends President Grant Jackson with cartons of books donated to Medha’s Girl Scout Gold Award
The Friends and the Irmo Branch Library joined together to help provide books to Medha Regmi as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award project. A 10th grader at Spring Hill High School and a member of Troop 1110, Medha has been in Girl Scouts for three and a half years.
Her project is to create small mobile libraries, similar to Little Free Libraries, for children in Nepal so they can have better access to books. She chose the project because her mother is from Nepal, and she helped Medha see how much children there could benefit from having greater access to books.
Besides the Irmo Branch Library, Medha is reaching to reach out to local thrift stores, bookstores, and community members for book donations. Her goal is to collect about 200 books to make four small libraries. The Library and the Friends have contributed more than 100 books.
The plan is to collect and organize the books over the next few months, ship them to Nepal, and set up the libraries with the help of her project advisor (her aunt) and family there. Her family in Nepal is helping her determine the best places for the libraries so that the books are available for children who really need them. The little libraries will be put in places such as children’s shelters, hospitals, and in other different community locations.
Each library will have around 50 children’s and youth books. The books will include stories, fun facts, and reading materials appropriate for children and young readers so they can both enjoy reading and improve their reading skills.
Two Youth Volunteers Receive Scholarships from Friends of Irmo Branch Library
Pictured above, Janet Caudle and her daughter, scholarship recipient MaKiley Ford; Friends President C. Grant Jackson; scholarship recipient Andrew Zhao and Irmo High guidance counselor Ruschell Pearson
MaKiley Ford and Chong Han “Andrew” Zhao are the recipients of the 2025 Friends of the Irmo Branch Library Scholarships. Each will receive a one-time $2,000 scholarship. Given annually, the scholarships recognize Outstanding Junior Volunteers at the Irmo Branch Library.
MaKiley, who will graduate in May from the Cyber Academy of S.C., has been accepted at University of South Carolina and Howard University. She is the daughter of Janet Caudle and James Ford.
Andrew, an International Baccalaureate Diploma student at Irmo High School, will graduate in May and will attend the Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing at the University of South Carolina. He is the son of You CaiRong and Zhao He.
MIDLANDS GIVES
The Friends of the Irmo Branch Library received $2,609 in online donations and won a $2,000 Power Hour prize during Midlands Gives on Tuesday, May 6. We humbly thank everyone for your gifts! We also received cash donations and matching funds. These donations will be used, as always, to support, promote and help fund Irmo Branch Library programs, services and materials. THANK YOU!
Irmo Library Friends Receive Statewide Honor
IRMO, S.C., APRIL 15, 2024 – The Friends of the Irmo Branch Library has been named the Outstanding Friends Group for 2024 by the Friends of South Carolina Libraries. The group was presented the award March 23 at the statewide Friends of South Carolina Libraries Annual Conference. The statewide conference was held at the Richland Library Main in Columbia.
“We are thrilled and honored to receive this award from the statewide Friends of South Carolina Libraries,” said C Grant Jackson, president of the Friends of the Irmo Branch Library. “This honor belongs to all our members and is a testament to the hard work they put in daily to support the Irmo Branch Library.”
Kim Hill, branch manager of the Irmo Branch Library, has much praise for the Friends. In a letter supporting the nomination she wrote, “The biggest way the Friends support us is through their extensive fundraising efforts. While public funding drives basic library operations, private support enables us to provide the highest level of service to our community. Since 2009, the Friends of the Irmo Branch Library have raised $209,000 — funding that has been crucial in elevating the amount and quality of programs and services we can provide for the citizens of Irmo.”
A non-profit, volunteer organization with over 100 members, the Friends of the Irmo Branch Library supports, promotes and helps fund the Irmo Branch Library, a part of the Lexington County Public Library system. The Friends meet monthly August-October and January-May. Friends volunteers help with an array of library events and help out at the Friends’ twice-yearly used-book sales and Mystery Dinner Theater fundraisers. The Irmo library is located at 6251 St. Andrews Road
Teen Volunteer Awarded Scholarship
Katherine “Katie” Turner, a graduating senior at Spring Hill High School, is the recipient of the 2023 Friends of the Irmo Branch Library Scholarship. The one-time $2,000 scholarship, given annually, recognizes an Outstanding Junior Volunteer at the Irmo Branch Library.
Katie started as a volunteer at the library as an eighth grader. “Serving as a library volunteer has meant a lot to me. Not only did I gain new skills, but I also got to see a thriving library community. Volunteering at the library was a natural step for me,” Katie wrote in her application for the scholarship, “Attending library programs and weekly visits were a part of my childhood.”
“We are delighted to award this year’s junior volunteer scholarship to such a well deserving student,” said C. Grant Jackson, president of the Friends of the Irmo Branch Library. “The junior volunteers provide invaluable service to the library.”
In addition to volunteering at the library, Katie has also been active in other community activities, including raising funds for Epworth Children’s Home, helping collect food items for Sharing God’s Love and Sistercare. At Spring Hill, she has been a member of the National Honor Society, Key Club, Multimedia Gaming Club, Crochet Club, Robotics Club, Girls Who Code and many other organizations,.
The daughter of William and Lucy Turner, Katie will attend the University of South Carolina in the fall, where she plans to major in computer science.
Thank you for the support! $552 raised May 2023!
Congratulations to Rosemary!
We are excited to announce that the Irmo Friends’ own Rosemary Teed has been chosen winner of the Outstanding Individual Award 2022 by the Friends of the South Carolina Libraries! Many of you know Rosemary, Special Projects Chair, and have worked with her as a volunteer at library events. If you have been to one of our Book Sales or a Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre production, you have met Rosemary! She also coordinates volunteers for many other Friends events. Her award was presented at the FOSCL March 26, 2022 meeting.
Friends of the Irmo Branch Library 