A private Catholic school in the District of Columbia has a new library with a rocking chair, shelves, new carpeting, fuzzy animals to play with, and hundreds of books, thanks to a lengthy effort by a church group from Great Falls..
After the Mildred Merrick chapter of the Christ Child Society was organized in Great Falls four years ago, the group elected to renovate and equip the library at Holy Comforter/St. Cyprian, (HCSC), in Washington, D.C.
Like many small parochial schools, HCSC’s budget had suffered, and the library along with it. The school has 200 children in preschool through eighth grade.
Although housed in a lovely older building with huge windows that admit plenty of light, the books on the shelves were dated, and the reference materials predated 1965.
What began as an effort to update the books soon grew into a bottom-to-top renovation with new shelves and furnishings as well as lots of new books.
“We kind of wondered blindly into this project,” said Roseanne Kelly, who co-chairs the Great Falls subchapter of the Mildred Merrick chapter with Mariann Cawley. Both live in Great Falls.
“Then we were lucky enough to get support from Sallie Mae. It turned out to be a larger project than we anticipated.
“It was very rewarding, but it took us two years to pull it off. We determined we had to start completely from scratch,” Kelly said.
The library was dedicated on Oct. 10, and a book fair is planned next week.
“I am really trying to push reading,” said Dr. Martina Matthews, principal at the school. “The childen are being challenged to read 50 books this year. There will incentives and prizes.
“They are so excited when they go in there,” she said.
As students visit the library each week, Mildred Merrick members help as assistant librarians to help with research, checkout, and to read to the students. So do parents, Kelly said.
“IT IS A GREAT SCHOOL in that the parents are very active,” she said Kelly.
The students “are fully aware of our offer to give Holy Comforter a modern library. They see this as a sign of respect for their intelligence and ambitions. They are correct in their assumptions,” said Kelly.
“We will continue to add to the total number of books, paying particular attention to those titles requested by teachers and students.
“It is our gift to them. We will continue to be involved, but it will be their library,” Kelly said.
THE CHRIST CHILD SOCIETY, which originated in Washington, D.C., stays active through Catholic churches. In Virginia, between 15 and 20 churches participate in the Mildred Merrick Chapter.
“They have a layette program where they give gigantic bags of baby items many of them homemade,” Kelly said.
The Great Falls subchapter, organized four years ago, has about 40 members from McLean, Great Falls, and Sterling.
After the group adopted the school library, William Diefenderfer of Great Falls suggested they write a proposal for financial assistance from the Sallie Mae Fund.
He serves on the Sallie Mae board and his wife, Sandy, is a member of the Great Falls subchapter of the Christ Child Society.
They put the group in touch with Michele Ridge, who moved to Washington from Pennsylvania when her husband, Tom, was appointed Director of Homeland Security. Michele Ridge, a former librarian, also serves on Sallie Mae’s board of directors.
The Sallie Mae Fund ultimately donated $14,000 to the library project in matching funds.
“We raised almost that much ourselves,” said Kelly, doubling the amount to $28,000 in three years.
Michele Ridge attended the recent dedication of the library and donated educational books.
MOST OF THE GREAT FALLS subchapter members of the Mildred Merrick Chapter attend church at St. Catherine of Siena in Great Falls or St. Luke’s Catholic Church in McLean.
After they selected the school library as a project, they got help from Gonzaga High School students who scraped, primed, and painted the large, sun-filled room, said Kelly, a member of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown.
The students also built new oak bookshelves that are now filled with up-to-date reference materials including encyclopedia sets, geography units, wall maps, and dictionaries.
State-of-the-art software was also contributed to streamline recording and cataloguing of books.
The Great Falls group also purchased new books and other materials requested by the HCSC teaching staff.
On the floor is covered with carpeting that was donated, along with new tables and chairs. Two rocking chairs with gingham cushions stand ready for young readers to while away rainy afternoons.
“This is a wonderful school and a delightful group of students,” Kelly said. “They deserve a fine library.”