The Friends of the Center Moriches Library will be hosting a different kind of fundraiser than their usual book sales this month—a jewelry bling sale!

The idea for selling jewelry, according to Friends of the Center Moriches Library president Eleanor Schultheis, came to their attention when networking with other Friends’ groups. Items, to make the sale possible, she said, have been generously donated by the community. 

The group stopped collecting from patrons, families, and friends last month, in an effort to price and organize before the sale.

“We have costume jewelry, necklaces, bracelets, rings, pins, earrings, and holiday jewelry,” Schultheis said of the collection up for sale. “We have beautiful sets, sterling silver, and some fancy jewelry, along with some accessories.”

Prices will range from $3 to $5, but there will also be tables of specially priced pieces and sets.

All the proceeds from the event will go into the Friends’ general fund to help the library purchase items they request.

“It could be something specific of money toward a large purchase,” she said, noting it could be equipment, furniture, or help for programming.

ABOUT THE FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY

The Friends of the Center Moriches Free Public Library has been operated by volunteers for decades with a purpose to maintain an association of people interested in libraries.

The friends help the library by raising public awareness, stimulating the use of the library’s resources and services, and to support the library’s developments.

During recent years, the nonprofit has celebrated Friends of the Library Week, assisted the library on shredding days, collected nonperishable food items and collected monetary donations for local food pantries, supported the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program, and even sponsored the library’s ever-popular Bicycle Book Mobile.

FOL has also maintained outreach programs, including Library at the Laundromat and the Little Free Libraries at Kaler’s Pond and Moriches Bay Recreation Facility; successful books sales, a few raffles, the Book Club, Puzzle Swap; and the annual scholarship program that presents awards to three local high school seniors.

Their fundraising efforts rely mostly on book donations from the public, where they offer them to the public on their thrift shelves in the library, as well as on specific book sale days, about twice a year.

President Eleanor Schultheis has been with the organization since 2015 and president for two years; she was also recently re-elected as president to serve the next two years. An East Moriches resident, she had her very first job working for a library, and is now retired as a clerical supervisor.

The point of the group, she said, is to help the community by raising money for the library. The club collects donated books eight months out of the year in an effort to sort and collect enough books for their sales.

All funds raised support the purchase of equipment, furniture, and programs. With the funding, the group also recently made a donation to the purchase of property to expand the library’s parking lot.

To become a member of the Friends of the Library visit centermoricheslibrary.org