Coastal N.C. Construction Firms Join Forces to Bring “Little Free Libraries” to Wilmington
Thanks to the generosity of the Coastal N.C. construction community, families at nine apartment communities administered by the Wilmington Housing Authority (WHA) are getting the opportunity to experience the love of reading.
“Children and adults will benefit from the ‘Little Free Libraries’ made possible by the time, money, and materials donated by 18 companies that do business in the Wilmington area, most of which are members of ABC,” said April Frye, ABC of the Carolinas’ Director of Membership for Coastal N.C., as well as Eastern N.C. and Fayetteville.
Little Free Library is a national nonprofit organization that inspires a love of reading, builds community, and sparks creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges around the world. Through Little Free Libraries, millions of books are exchanged each year, profoundly increasing access to books for readers of all ages and backgrounds.
Frye spearheaded the Little Free Library initiative with ABC member companies. The community service effort kicked off in early November 2017 and culminated in late February 2018. “Our members were quick to offer their time and resources to make this a success,” said Frye. “A group of dedicated volunteers built the nine ‘little free libraries’ in installments using donated materials. They built the wooden structures at a property provided by ECS Southeast. They took care of installing the structures at each site, and also stocked each little library with a wide variety of donated books.”
On Friday, February 23, the Wilmington Housing Authority hosted a ceremony to unveil one of the new Little Free Libraries. Attended by ABC’s Frye and representatives from participating companies, the celebration at the Houston Moore Apartment Community on 13th Street garnered media attention from a local television station.
“Children cheered as the library opened and around a dozen of them grabbed books to take home,” reported NBC affiliate WECT-TV Channel 6. View television coverage: Spreading the love of reading, one book at a time.
The Wilmington Housing Authority thanked ABC of the Carolinas and the participating firms for their generous donations of labor, funds, and resources.
Participating Organizations
Adams, an Oldcastle Company
A & N Roofing
Brinn Glass
Copycat Printing
ECS Southeast
East Coast Contracting
84 Lumber
Fox Hill Construction
Herc Rentals
Pink Trash
Precision Walls
Premier Electrical Staffing
SPC Mechanical
Sherwin Williams
Standard Glass
Sunbelt Rentals
Thomas Construction Group
WM Jordan
For more information about the WHA, contact CEO Katrina H. Redmon at kredmon@wha.net.
