SIMPSON BAY, Sint Maarten — On Saturday 26 th September 2020, the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset launched its fourth Little Free Library on the island at the Allen C. Halley Community Center in Simpson Bay in the presence of the center’s Director, Brigitte Halley, as well as members and guests of the club.
The concept of the Little Free Library was initially introduced in 2009 by Rotarian Todd Bol of Hudson, Wisconsin and the idea quickly spread throughout thousands of communities in the United States, with the goal of creating awareness on the importance of literacy.
This newly installed Little Free Library is not new to the island of St. Martin, as Rotary Sunset introduced the first Little Free Library on the Marigot Waterfront in December of 2018 and throughout the years have installed Little Free Libraries at the Raoul Illidge Sports Complex in Cay Hill, the University of St. Martin and now it’s fourth at the Simpson Bay Allen C. Halley Community Center. The objective of the little free library is mainly to encourage more reading and to promote literacy throughout our communities.
“Rotary advocates basic education and literacy and with an initiative such as this, it is very beneficial to promote reading, especially in the communities. It is the club’s hope that the community of Simpson Bay appreciates this gesture and will utilize the box effectively. Anyone in the nearby communities of Cole Bay, Cay Bay, Pelican and even as far as the Mullet Bay area can stop to take a book and leave a book. Multilingual books and various gestures can be found and are accepted in the Little Free Library . Heartfelt gratitude is extended to Mr. Martin Canzius of Canzius Designs N.V. for constructing the Little Free Library and Mr. Larry Yankey for affixing the signs,” President of the
Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset, Elisia Lake stated.
The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset would like to encourage the general public to visit any of the four little libraries on the island, as we continue to promote the importance of reading. The club has partnered with Rotary and Rotaract clubs in neighboring islands such as Virgin Gorda and Turks and Caicos and installed 2 Little Free Libraries. A Little Free Library is also in the process of being installed in Anguilla of which Rotary Sunset is ecstatic about. Community members are urged to donate books they are no longer using, to either of the club’s little libraries or any member of the
Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset. For persons interested in sponsoring a Little Free Library, please feel free to contact the club via rotarysxmsunset@gmail.com or call +1 721 587 4193
