MoneyCommunity projects
A free library and reading room: a volunteer-led effort in Oakland
Volunteers in Oakland are raising $3,850 for a free library and reading room at the Baobab vacant lot.
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For ten years the neighborhood has asked for a free library and reading room. This year a group of 8 volunteers, including a group of teenagers, decided to stop waiting. The council has given permission for the Baobab vacant lot, but no funding.
We have received donated paint, and the remaining cost is $3,850.
It will serve about 87 people, including children, seniors and people with disabilities. We'll hold a build day in September and everyone is invited.
We're a small team, and every dollar will be spent in the open - I'll post receipts and progress photos.
All purchases will be made by two volunteers and logged publicly. Surplus funds will go to maintenance.
Where the $3,850 goes:
• Materials: $3,000
• Permits and inspections: $190
• Safety equipment and signage: $350
• Tools hire and delivery: $310
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Updates from Mercy
No updates yet. Supporters are notified when the owner posts one.
- Agnes Andersson 🇸🇪 · $500
“Sending love. - Gothenburg”
- Babar Faisal Sheikh 🇵🇰 · $200
“Happy to help. Hope this covers a bit of it. - Faisalabad”
- Marilyn M. Peterson 🇬🇧 · $100
- Nyambura Njeri Mrema 🇺🇬 · $100
“Every little bit - Gulu”
- Neha G. Kothari 🇮🇳 · $100
- Sarah Nancy Kiptoo 🇰🇪 · $100
- Vidya W. Anand 🇮🇳 · $75
- Anonymous 🇮🇳 · $51.50
- Stefan Jäger 🇩🇪 · $50
“Happy to help. Been where you're, it gets better. - Braunschweig”
- Jose C. Reyes 🇵🇭 · $50
- Fatuma Akinyi Githinji 🇰🇪 · $50
“Thought of Mercy all day after reading this. - Kasarani”
- Ife Obiageli Odukoya 🇳🇬 · $50
- Angela C. Jordan 🇬🇧 · $50
- Enrique G. Álvarez 🇨🇴 · $50
- Ella F. Pierce 🇦🇺 · $50
- Enrico Carbone 🇮🇹 · $50
- Enrico Simone Barone 🇮🇹 · $50
“Good luck. This is from my last paycheck, glad to do it. - Catania”
- Owen P. Montgomery 🇺🇸 · $50
- Victor G. Mercado 🇵🇭 · $50
- Anonymous 🇦🇺 · $50
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Thinking of you and your family, Mercy. Projects like this are what make a place worth living in. I hope September is when things finally get easier. Love from Faisalabad.
Keep going. Hope the build day goes well, wish I lived closer. Greetings from Lyon
Hope it all works out, Mercy. Hope the build day goes well, wish I lived closer. Thinking of Oakland
Hang in there. Shared this with my family. Sent it to 28 people at work. Greetings from Aurangabad
sending strength, Mercy. More neighborhoods should do this. I'm in customer support myself and wanted you to know we're cheering for you. Take care.
Take care. I hope things turn around soon. We lost years of savings to something like this so I get it. Love from Porto Alegre.