DEMOREST, Ga. — Community members filled Holden Oversoul Kitchen & Oyster Bar on June 28 to support the Friends of the Clarkesville Library during a fundraiser that organizers say will help provide resources beyond the library’s operating budget.
More than 100 people attended the summer cookout fundraiser hosted by Holden Oversoul owner and chef Jamie Allred. Guests enjoyed an expansive buffet featuring smoked pork ribs, TexGA meats, squash casserole and other summer favorites while musician Matt Fried performed classic rock hits.
The event sold 102 tickets at $45 each, according to Friends of the Clarkesville Library Chair Mel Vaillant. While the final amount raised had not yet been calculated, Vaillant said organizers expect to know the total by Wednesday after expenses are finalized.
“The feedback has been incredible,” Vaillant said. “People told me yesterday, ‘Wonderful event!’ and ‘Matt Fried was phenomenal.'”
Vaillant said many people don’t realize the Friends of the Clarkesville Library is a separate nonprofit organization that exists solely to enhance what the public library can offer the community.
“Being a member of the Friends of the Library is separate from having a library card,” she said. “A library card gets you all the free items at the library; the Friends of the Clarkesville Library is the fuel behind the library. Their budget is so tight, but we can do the extras that they need.”
Among those extras is funding for the library’s annual Summer Reading Program, which Vaillant said cost approximately $2,200 this year.
“The summer reading program—which is going on right now—cost $2,200, and the Friends supplied that money,” she said. “We are growing our digital library because the cost is so prohibitive, so that we can provide funds for that as well.”
The organization also helps purchase equipment and furnishings that would otherwise be difficult for the library to replace.
“We are also buying replacements for 30-year-old chairs,” Vaillant said. “These are just a few of the items that Shawna Meers-Ernst, our library manager, has requested, and there will be more requests, for sure.”
Vaillant credited Allred and the staff at Holden Oversoul for making the fundraiser possible.
“That is why we were so excited about this fundraiser because Chef Jamie Allred is so generous and incredible with everything that he has offered for us,” she said.
The Friends of the Clarkesville Library supports projects including the Summer Reading Program, expansion of the library’s digital collection, furnishings and other initiatives designed to enhance services for patrons throughout Habersham County.
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