By Arlene Miller, Friends of the Pennsauken Free Public Library

The six lucky winners of our fall raffle, who won baskets worth more than $300 each filled with gift cards and other merchandise donated by generous merchants in our area, will be celebrating the holidays in style, no doubt. After treating themselves at local restaurants, maybe   some of their winnings will help add a few surprises to their fortunate gift recipients during this upcoming holiday season. The winners were Cheryl Merlino, Linda Martin, Lynn McHugh, Thuy Quang, Judy Schinog, and Shannon Shah. We congratulate them and appreciate their support, along with everyone else who bought tickets in this year’s raffle, to help the Pennsauken Free Public Library. But if your name wasn’t among those selected, take heart; there’s always next year.

Elsewhere, there’s a lot happening. On Dec. 2, we’ll hold a free pain/stress management workshop in the Community Room from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. with hypnotherapist Margaret Worthington. Be sure to sign up in advance by visiting or calling the circulation desk; and be prepared to learn ways to stay calm and stress-free, especially during this hectic time of year.

And speaking of hectic, scratch cookie baking off your list, because the Friends are here to rescue you from the chore. On Saturday, Dec. 9, from noon – 4:00 p.m., we’ll hold another of our now-famous cookie sales in the Library lobby. Our wonderful selection of flavors promises to save you time and energy and help the library to boot. Come early though, because we can’t guarantee how long the supplies will last; and you definitely won’t want to miss out. Remember to show your Friends of the Library membership card for your free bag of cookies!

This last Munch and a Movie of the year is moving to Wednesday, Dec. 13, just for this month. Pack your lunch and bring you and your friends to the Community Room from 12:30 – 3:00 p.m. for the movie, snacks and beverages we’ll provide, along with lots of fun. Call the circulation desk in advance for the name of the movie if you don’t want to be surprised.

Finally, here’s a suggestion for a special someone on your gift list, or maybe a colleague or loved one who has passed and whom you’d like to commemorate. A beautiful bronze leaf on Ira’s Tree of Knowledge is a permanent way to honor them and let them and others know how much they mean to you. Since we rededicated Ira’s Tree a few months ago, nearly a dozen leaves have been bought and dedicated in ceremonies held in the Library, many of which you can see on our Facebook page. Annette Fine, who purchased the tree in memory of her late husband Ira, a dedicated patron of the Pennsauken Library, recently bought the first new leaf in honor of her grandchildren, Emily, Nathan, Harrison, Jacob, and Frank. Other purchases honor Agnes V. Rash, “an ardent reader;” and the Piperno Family. Anna P. Householder was remembered by her three daughters, who chose the spot for their mother’s leaf next to Anna’s lifelong friend. The Merchantville Stamp Club honored its founder, Henry Applegate, who passed away last summer. Daisaku Ikeda, a Buddhist philosopher, educator, author, and anti-nuclear activist, was honored with his own leaf. As the founding president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), the photos from his leaf dedication garnered more than 1,000 hits in his honor on our Facebook page. Another donor, Doug Howie of Howie Electrical, Inc. dedicated his leaf to “Pennsauken Proud;” pictures during the dedication show him and his wife attaching their leaf to the huge tree on the Library’s lobby wall. Another local organization bought a leaf to demonstrate their support for the Friends and engraved it “Pennsauken Neighbors Helping Neighbors.” Three leaves to go up on the tree soon will honor three members of the Friends whose recent passing have saddened us all: Patricia Stevens, Bill Martell, and Sam Kleinburd, all lifetime members remembered for their service and dedication. And the latest leaf, purchased by Hugh and Kathleen O’Connell, was donated to the Friends as their way of saying “thanks” for their service to the Library.

It’s easy to purchase a leaf; you can let us know what you want engraved on it, where you’d like it placed on the tree, and even hang it yourself if you’d like. We don’t want to go out on a limb here, but isn’t dedicating one of these beautiful leaves to someone special a unique way of letting them and others know how much you care?

You’ll find information about purchasing and engraving in the brochure on the lobby desk; while you’re there, check out what others have written on their leaves.

We have all sorts of plans in the works for 2018: adult yoga, musical concert, lectures, more cookie sales, and other events we’ll keep you up to date on. In the meantime though, the Friends of the Pennsauken Library thank everyone for their support throughout the year to help our efforts to help the Library. We wish everyone a very happy and joyous holiday season and look forward to a prosperous and healthy 2018.