Casey residents donated more than $5000 worth of gifts and non-perishable food items to the Connected Libraries (CL) Deliver Joy Campaign in the lead-up to Christmas in 2023.
Deliver Joy offered library members a way to pay it forward and help people doing it tough over Christmas.
The library also encouraged its members to donate to Deliver Joy instead of paying for existing charges on their library cards.
CL does not charge overdue fines but does recoup costs if a borrowed item is lost or damaged.
However, during Deliver Joy, if members donated to one of the five charities the library was supporting, any of these charges on their library cards were waived.
CL partnered with five local charities during the six-week campaign, including The Andre Centre, Cranbourne Information and Support Service (CISS), Transit Outreach Service, St Vincent De Paul Society-Berwick Soup Van, and Manna4Life.
The campaign raised over $120 in donations combined for the local charities.
More than $3429.53 in charges were waived as part of the program.
CL chief executive officer Beth Luppino said it was inspiring to witness the generosity of library members, even when the waiving of overdue fines was no longer an incentive.
“We were overwhelmed by the generosity of locals given the current economic climate,” she said.
“Public libraries contribute to stronger and more resilient communities in so many different ways.
“Libraries really do change lives.”
