The STL Candidates Are Active in Community Projects

All of the STL candidates continue to be active in the community and stay involved in many productive ventures related to our library. In doing so, they make it so clear why they are the library trustees candidates who will best serve the residents of Carol Stream. On Sunday, March 10, the STL candidates volunteered to assist with the reception for Susan Westgate, the new Library Director. Jim Bailey, Bonita Gilliam, Patricia Johnson, and Nadia Sheikh all helped serve refreshments during the event and greeted residents who came for the reception. This reception was one of the many special events that the Friends of the Carol Stream Library have planned and hosted over the years, and all five of the STL candidates are proud members of the Friends organization.

On March 17, several of the STL candidates attended the annual St. Joseph’s Table event at St. Isidore Church. This is a charity event that helps to raise needed funds for community projects including the DuPage Walk-in Food Pantry and DuPagePads, the organization that does so much for homeless residents in our community. The STL candidates know that service to our community comes in many forms, and as trustees on the Carol Stream Library Board, they will continue to work with all local organizations in their outreach efforts to make our library an even stronger element in our community. They provide a positive and productive vision for our library and they are all avid library users who recognize the importance of a library in a community.

As reported in an earlier article on this web site, Patricia Johnson and Nadia Sheikh participated in the Grocery Cart Race, held at the Jewel in Carol Stream on February 7. This is DuPage County Farm Bureau's annual program where contestants have just 10 minutes to fly through the store, looking for items containing corn, wheat, or soy, Illinois' top three crops. Two food pantries in the community benefit from the Farm Bureau's generosity - the Humanitarian Service Project and Neighborhood Food Pantries.

On January 15, Bonita Gilliam and Nadia Sheikh continued their efforts to reach out to residents of all faiths by meeting with people at the Islamic Center Western Suburbs. They had an opportunity to talk about their positive vision for our library and ways that the library can best serve the needs of all residents. Bonita also does volunteer work at the College of DuPage, and Nadia will be volunteering her time at the annual Earth Day events on April 20 in cooperation with the Carol Stream Women's Club and the Carol Stream Park District. Here is a link with more information about the Earth Day activities:

http://www.csparks.org/green/index.php/earth-day-2012

Election Day is Tuesday, April 9, but voters can take advantage of Early Voting which begins on Monday, March 25. It is a great way to vote on a day and time that is most convenient for you. Either way, it is critical that all voters who value the Carol Stream Public Library get out to vote so that Jim Bailey, Bonita Gilliam, Patricia Johnson, Edward Jourdan, and Nadia Sheikh can help turn the page on the bitter events of the past few months and restore integrity to our library board.