OAKLEY — A fundraising dinner for the new Oakley Library and Community Center will take place on Aug. 16 to help raise money for the facility, which could cost close to $28 million.
The fundraising event, held by the Friends of the Oakley Library and the Rotary Club of Oakley, will begin at 6 p.m., at the Oakley Recreation Center on O’Hara Avenue. Tickets are $50 each, and reservations must be made before Monday.
There is also room to sponsor or donate a raffle item; the last day to do so is Tuesday.
Liz Fuller, the treasurer of Friends of the Oakley Library, said it was encouraging to see so many people excited about the new library and community center.
There are sponsorships ranging from $250 to $750 from 14 local businesses and individuals and raffle items donated by 12 local businesses.
“Whether we’re doing outreach at a city event or asking big donors to contribute, the reaction is overwhelmingly positive and met with excitement. This event feels like a celebration of the fact that we are going to get a facility that will benefit everyone in the community,” Fuller said.
The current Oakley Library inside the Freedom High School outgrew the facilities years ago to cater to the growing number of residents in the community. A new location for the library was supposed to be identified by 2004, but after two decades, the new library has found a potential home at the Oakley Civic Center Plaza.
Oakley has identified $9.5 million to fund the new library. However, the city has set a deadline of Dec. 31 of this year to raise additional money to build a much larger library and community center. This facility, approximately 28,000 square feet, will house not just the library but also a senior center and a veteran’s center and would cost $28 million.
The fundraising dinner will include a Hawaiian-themed buffet from Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Restaurant in Oakley, a no-host bar staffed by the Rotary Club of Oakley, a raffle, a Hawaiian dance performance.
Guest speakers include: Oakley Union Elementary School District Superintendent of Schools Jeff Palmquist, Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder Kristin Connelly and Susan Hildreth, a renowned librarian who has worked for the National Institute of Museum and Library Services.
To buy the tickets or learn more about sponsorship opportunities, visit https://www.oakleylibrary.org/new_fundraising_event
