OAKLEY – A benefit dinner for the new Oakley library and community center will be held Aug. 16 to raise money for the facility, which could cost nearly $28 million.
The fundraiser, hosted by the Friends of the Oakley Library and the Rotary Club of Oakley, begins at 6 p.m. at the Oakley Recreation Center on O’Hara Avenue. Tickets are $50 each and must be reserved by Monday. There is also an opportunity to sponsor or donate a raffle item; the last day to do so is Tuesday.
Liz Fuller, treasurer of the Friends of the Oakley Library, said 85 tickets have been sold so far. There are sponsorships ranging from $250 to $750 from 14 local businesses and individuals, and raffle items donated by 12 local businesses.
Fuller said it was encouraging to see so many people excited about the new library and community center.
“Whether we’re doing community outreach at a city event or asking major donors to contribute, the response is consistently positive and enthusiastic. … This event feels like a celebration of the fact that we’re getting a facility that benefits everyone in the community,” Fuller said.
The benefit dinner will include a Hawaiian buffet provided by Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Restaurant in Oakley, a hostess bar operated by the Rotary Club of Oakley, a raffle, a Hawaiian dance performance and guest speakers. Guest speakers scheduled for the evening include Jeff Palmquist, Oakley Union Elementary School District superintendent; Kristin Connelly, Contra Costa County Clerk, former president and CEO of the East Bay Leadership Council and executive director of the Contra Costa Economic Council; and Susan Hildreth, former California State Librarian and director of the National Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The current Oakley library, located in Freedom High School, outgrew the community’s growing population years ago. A new location for the library was to be found by 2004, but after two decades, the new library has found a potential home in the Oakley Civic Center Plaza.
Oakley has set aside $9.5 million to fund the new library, but the city has set a deadline of Dec. 31 of this year to raise additional money to build a much larger library and community center. This 300,000-square-foot facility will house not only the library but also a senior citizen and veterans center and will cost $28 million.
To purchase tickets or learn more about sponsorship opportunities, visit https://www.oakleylibrary.org/new_fundraising_event.
