PINELLAS PARK: On Tuesday July 22nd from 5:30-7:00 pm, Girls Incorporated of Pinellas will dedicate the new library at its Pinellas Park campus with a ribbon cutting ceremony officiated by Pinellas Park Mayor Bill Mischler.  Community members are invited to attend the dedication at 7686 61st St N.  The ceremony will honor the community sponsors who have supported this project and will unveil the new special collection of girls’ empowerment books.  Sponsors include Kiwanis Clubs of Division 13, the Glazer Family Foundation, the Community Foundation of Greater St. Petersburg, the Pinellas Park Sam’s Club, Pinellas Park Home Depot, and People Helping People.

“The mission of Girls Incorporated of Pinellas is to inspire girls to be strong, smart, and bold,” said Executive Director Renee McInnis, “and we know it is important for girls to be exposed to positive messages about who they are and what they can aspire to.  Our library is central to getting this empowerment message to the girls and we are very grateful for the community’s support in making it possible. The library will include the Kiwanis Reading Room, as the Pinellas Park Kiwanis transformed a dreary room into a welcoming and cozy center for literacy, and purchased new bookcases.  The Gulf Beaches Kiwanis also purchased bookcases and a beautiful Kiwanis area rug.  A Seminole Kiwanis member provided new carpeting, a Seminole Breakfast club member provided books, and the St. Petersburg club provided financial support.”

According to McInnis, community support has been essential in enabling the library project to move forward.  The Glazer Family Foundation awarded grant funding for the library literacy program, the Community Foundation of Greater St. Petersburg and Sam’s Club provided support for the purchase of books, and Home Depot provided supplies.  “Girls in our society get a lot of messages that tell them their self worth depends on how they look and what they wear.  It’s a very limiting message that often comes from the media, from music lyrics, from magazines and books,” says McInnis.  “Our library at Girls Inc is a girls’ empowerment library with books that have positive female characters to inspire young readers.   It includes books on famous women, on women who have made a positive impact on the world, and books with affirming messages on self esteem.  Our library includes fiction and non-fiction, with books for readers as young as 5 and into young adulthood.  Our books will affirm for girls that they are valuable,  they are smart, and they can make a difference.”  

The Girls Incorporated library is beginning with a small collection of approximately 400 books and has a goal to grow to include 4,000 empowerment books.  Girls Inc members will have the option of reading onsite, joining book clubs, and participating in BookFlix, an online literacy program they can log into at Girls Inc or wherever they can access the Internet.  The goal of the library is to eventually become a lending library both for Girls Inc members and the wider community.   Girls Inc. provides girls empowerment programs during summer day camp and in innovative school year programs.  For more information call (727) 544-6230 or go online at www.girlsinc-pinellas.org.

Girls Incorporated of Pinellas
7700 61st St, Pinellas Park, FL
Inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and boldsm

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: July 21, 2008
Contact: Renee McInnis: 727-544-6230 x117