Katie O’Daniel and Westfield Mayor Andy Cook at the Simon Moon Little Library (Photo provided)
One of Westfield’s Little Libraries will soon be stocked for years to come thanks to a $500 grant from Youth Service America and the Walt Disney Company.
Westfield resident Katie O’Daniel applied for the grant last year as part of Youth Service America’s Summer of Service application process.
O’Daniel’s award letter from Youth Service America noted that the organization received “an overwhelming number of wonderful applications, but your project, Learn to Read at Simon Moon Park, stood out to us as one of the best.”
Westfield’s Barnes and Noble also provided a 20 percent discount towards the books purchased for the Little Library. This allowed Katie to purchase significantly more books for the program.
The Westfield Parks and Recreation Department will serve as stewards of the grant and will use the funds to periodically refill the Simon Moon library with books aimed at early learners.