Hello there neighbor!
We have some awesome news to share, with opportunities you or people you know may be interested in. Check it out and please share around!
Niles Youth Community
A group of youth organizers has joined the Niles Coalition as the Niles Youth Community! We are so excited to work with them in solidarity and help uplift their voices. You can find their page on our website here: Niles Youth Community
Website Calendar
We added a calendar to our website where we will add events we are organizing and events we’re aware of around our community. Check it out: Niles Coalition Calendar
Speaking of the calendar here are some events we are organizing this month:
🗓 Library Neighborhood Stroll Sunday, September 19th
Summer is drawing to a close so let’s take the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors one last time, and support our library.
Join us for a 2.7 mile stroll that will begin and end at the Niles-Maine District Library, while strolling a route throughout our wonderful Niles neighborhoods.
🗓 WINGS Volunteer Event Sunday, September 26th
Organizations like WINGS that are making a positive impact in and around Niles rely on community support. The Niles Coalition is organizing a volunteer event at WINGS Resale. We will help the store with cleaning, doantation receptions, and any other tasks they may need to get completed. If you are interested in joining us please fill out this volunteer form. We hope to see you at WINGS on the 26th!
#SaveNilesLibrary
After the damage was done with the budget that was passed, Vice President Trustee Olivia Hanusiak quit. The four anti-library trustees are now three (Suzanne Schoenfeldt, Joe Makula, and Carolyn Drblik), which makes this a deadlocked even three to three split. The anti-library trustees have been stalled from their wicked plan, for now. We fought hard for months to get here. This library board deserves a trustee who actually cares to foster a library that meets the needs for EVERYbody in the community.
To that end the Niles Youth Community is already busy contributing to our #SaveNilesLibrary campaign. They have drafted a set of demands that address the inequitable environment the anti-library trustees are cultivating.
- We demand equity at the Niles-Maine District Library by updating the mission: “to equitably engage, inform, enrich, and educate.”
- We demand resources to meet the needs of community members from ALL backgrounds (including immigrant families, families of color, families from lower socioeconomic statuses, etc) by funding library hours, programs, materials, and services.
- We demand racial representation by filling the vacant library trustee position with a person of color who is against eliminating the services and resources that some board members have targeted.
- We demand youth representation (including middle/high schoolers) to have our opinions be equally listened to and valued, through inclusion at board meetings.
We fully support these demands and hope you will too! Read more: Niles Youth Community #SaveNilesLibrary Demands
🗓 Niles-Maine District Library Board Meeting 9-2021
The next board meeting is this Wednesday, September 15th at 6:30pm so please consider attending and making a public comment in solidarity with these demands.
Thanks for reading and we hope to see you out at some of these events!