The Grinch, Succulents, Community Service and Christmas in Appomattox
Waving in December in a green and grinchy way! The Jamerson Library celebrated the heralding of the Holiday Season with a green car and the fuzzy green grumpy one by participating in the Christmas Parade as a part of Experience the Holidays in Appomattox. The Library also was a part of the great Sweet Stocking Search on Saturday. Just another weekend filled with books, movies, community outreach and more! Don’t forget that there is a gingerbread photo station outside the front doors, a Grinch banner in the foyer, and, when the community room is not in use, a fireplace and Christmas tree photo station for patrons to make use of.
December comes from the word decem, “ten”, because this had been the tenth month of the early Roman calendar. Although it’s our 12th month, the name never changed. December’s birthstone is turquoise and the flower is the orchid. A few observances in December are: National Pear Month, National Write A Business Plan Month, Operation Santa Paws, Universal Human Rights Month, Chanukah (4th–12th), Kwanzaa (26th–1st), Rosa Parks Day (1st), International Cheetah Day (4th), St. Nicholas Day (6th), National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (7th), Dewey Decimal System Day (10th), Gingerbread Decorating Day and Gingerbread House Day (12th), Bill of Rights Day (15th), Crossword Puzzle Day (21st), Winter Solstice and Yule (21st), Christmas Eve (24th), Christmas (25th), Pledge of Allegiance Day (28th), and New Year’s Eve (31st).
For parents who registered their children for the Neighborhood Forest’s Fall Indoor Plant Program, the succulent kits have arrived at the Library. You may pick up your succulent kits at the Library until Friday, December 12th, during normal business hours. We will be reaching out by sending reminder emails and phone calls. Any succulent kits not picked up after this date will find new homes or be adopted out at the next plant swap.
This year, the Library is sponsoring several outreach programs. One is “Elves for Elders”, hosted by Central Virginia Alliance for Community Living, Inc. (CVACL). Patrons are encouraged to pick an ornament tag off the tree, located in the Library’s foyer, and help provide Christmas to a local senior citizen who may not otherwise have one. Gifts are due back by 5:00 pm on December 5th. CVACL requests that you do not wrap gifts, but instead put them in a bag or box with the ornament tag. There is also an option to bring in lotion, puzzles, tissues, gift cards, blankets, towels, gloves, hats, or other items to help put together needed gifts for ornament tags that were not taken or not returned.
We also have a box for St. Anne’s Community Christmas Tree outreach near the circulation desk for patrons to bring in lightly used and new gifts for children from preschool through high school age. St. Anne’s works with other local churches to help provide Christmas gifts for families in need. If you have an extra toy, blanket, socks, coloring books, art supplies, books, clothes, or other such items you are encouraged to donate, and help spread the Christmas Spirit throughout Appomattox.
The Library is accepting donations of Meal in a Bag Kits, which will be distributed to households throughout our community to help ensure that every family has access to a warm and nourishing meal during the holidays. Donations may be dropped off at the J. Robert Jamerson Memorial Library during regular business hours. Thanks to a generous donation from the Women of the Moose and the Moose Lodge in Appomattox, the Library is putting together numerous Meal in a Bag Kits. We have added new recipe cards to our website and look forward to working with St. Anne’s Episcopal Church to make sure that those families in need are provided for. If you would like to participate, the J. Robert Jamerson Memorial Library has a box of gallon-sized zipper bags with recipe cards in them, so all you have to do is fill the bag and return it to the library. For a list of suggested items and sample recipes, please visit our website at: https://www.jrjml.org/tbtc/ to view the Meal in a Bag recipe cards. Your participation and generosity will make a meaningful difference in the lives of our neighbors this season.
Looking to get your Christmas gifts wrapped? The Appomattox County Library Association (ACLA) along with Library Staff and volunteers will host their first “Wrapping For a Cause” on Thursday, December 4th from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm inside the Library’s community room. Get your gifts nicely wrapped, complete with bows, in exchange for a monetary donation. All donations will go to ACLA to support the Jamerson Library.
Catch the Christmas Spirit! Join the Jamerson Library staff at the Moose Lodge’s “Santa’s Crafty Pizza Party” on Saturday, December 6th, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. Come do “make and take” Christmas ornaments with us! You make an ornament to put on the tree, and take one home with you! There will be pizza, pictures with Santa, ID Kits and more! Moose Lodge participation fees do apply.
In observation of the Christmas Holiday, the Library will be closed from Wednesday, December 24th, through Friday, December 26th. We will reopen for normal business hours on Saturday, December 27th, starting at 9:30 am. The book drop, located at the back of the building, will remain open.
If you have any questions or concerns about this article or other library-related topics, please feel free to call us during normal business hours.