Help A Small Town and Library Destroyed by Hurricane Irene - Upper Jay, New York

Most people have seen the images of Vermont in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, and the flooding and destruction is incredible.  But some tiny towns in the Adirondack mountains of upstate New York have been nearly destroyed.  Most of them are small communities built in low-lying areas at the base of these beautiful mountains, surrounded by streams and rivers.  When Irene came through, the destruction from the flooding was devastating.  These are not wealthy areas.    Towns like Keene, and Upper Jay were especially hard hit. 

My cousin is helping to organize relief efforts for the town of Jay.  Please consider sending a check to the following address to help them out.

Donations for the Disaster Relief Fund for the Town of JAY:   Send checks made out for cash to  Town of Jay, 11 School Lane, Au Sable Forks, NY 12912.

Also, North Country National Public Radio has compiled a list of organizations helping the area and those names and addresses (as well as donation needs) can be found here: http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/hurricaneirene.html

The library in Upper Jay lost nearly all of its children's books from the floodwaters, because the books were on the lower shelves, where the children could reach them.  If you can help please do so.  This is a cause close to my heart.  I have family in the Keene/Upper Jay areas, and was born and raised in a small town in the Adirondacks, and our tiny library was a sacred place for me.  I had a library card from early childhood, and that little building in Bolton Landing was my window on the world, giving me doses of education, imagination, hope and wonder.  Let's help replace those windows for the children of Upper Jay.

The following information is from children's book author Kate Messner's site.  Please check out her website at www.katemessner.com:

To help Wells Memorial Library in Upper Jay, NY

Send a check to:

Wells Memorial Library

P.O. Box 57

Upper Jay, NY 12987

OR

Contact local independent bookseller The Bookstore Plus at 518-523-2950 to purchase books and/or contribute to a library gift card. Authors & Illustrators may also donate signed books & original art for an October fundraiser. Click here for details.

Thanks SO much to all who have already donated. The response has been amazing, and the library’s story has spread to NPR’s All Things Considered, GalleyCat, and too many blogs, Facebook pages, & Twitter feeds to count. Truly…thank you.