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Fall 2025
As 2025 draws to a close we want to thank you for supporting the Library!
We hope that you have been receiving our Giving Tuesday emails, where the theme is Inspiring Generosity. For 161 years, donors like you have made meaningful financial gifts to the Library, which have allowed us to complete projects like the Register Citizen Digitization.
This year we received a substantial bequest from the estate of long-time Torrington resident, Faustina (Tina) Maggiorotto. Like those who came before her, Ms. Maggiorotto understood the value of a Library to its community. After careful thought on how to responsibly use Tina’s gift and after identifying a strong need in Torrington (see below), we have developed our Early Literacy Initiative.
According to the Connecticut Department of Education 54% of third graders in Connecticut are not proficient in reading. Reading proficiently by the end of third grade is a crucial marker in a child’s educational development. Failure to read proficiently is linked to higher rates of school dropout, which suppresses individual earning potential as well as the nation’s competitiveness and general productivity.
This is where the Library can help. By using a portion of Ms. Maggiorotto’s gift, along with various other grants, we can fund a series of Library sponsored intervention programs that reinforce literacy acquisition skills for Torrington children ages birth through grade three. The Early Literacy Initiative programs include:
We hope you will consider donating to the Library’s Year End Appeal, which kicks off during our Giving Tuesday Campaign on December 2nd. An Angel Donor will match ALL donations (up to $1,000 per individual donor and $10,000 total) from now until December 2nd at midnight! You can mail in your donation; drop it off to the library; or donate online (all donations must be received on or before December 2nd). This is a unique opportunity to make your generous contribution go further in helping the Library.
Please take a few moments to read the reverse side of this letter to learn more about the Library. Have a safe and happy holiday season and we’ll see you soon!
Warmly,
Steven M. Temkin, President and Jessica Gueniat, Director
As 2025 draws to a close we want to thank you for supporting the Library!
We hope that you have been receiving our Giving Tuesday emails, where the theme is Inspiring Generosity. For 161 years, donors like you have made meaningful financial gifts to the Library, which have allowed us to complete projects like the Register Citizen Digitization.
This year we received a substantial bequest from the estate of long-time Torrington resident, Faustina (Tina) Maggiorotto. Like those who came before her, Ms. Maggiorotto understood the value of a Library to its community. After careful thought on how to responsibly use Tina’s gift and after identifying a strong need in Torrington (see below), we have developed our Early Literacy Initiative.
According to the Connecticut Department of Education 54% of third graders in Connecticut are not proficient in reading. Reading proficiently by the end of third grade is a crucial marker in a child’s educational development. Failure to read proficiently is linked to higher rates of school dropout, which suppresses individual earning potential as well as the nation’s competitiveness and general productivity.
This is where the Library can help. By using a portion of Ms. Maggiorotto’s gift, along with various other grants, we can fund a series of Library sponsored intervention programs that reinforce literacy acquisition skills for Torrington children ages birth through grade three. The Early Literacy Initiative programs include:
- Grow a Reader: The Library hosts two weekly drop-in programs for children ages birth through 5. Each participant who attends regularly receives a free book once a month. This program helps to build home libraries and encourages steady participation. This program is funded by Charlotte Hungerford Hospital: A Hartford HealthCare Partner
- Letters Are Characters and Letters Are Builder: An innovative play-based program designed to get every type of learner ready to read. Specifically, it helps kindergarten and first grade students break the phonemic or alphabetic code, therefore increasing reading success moving forward.
- Doorway to Learning: Librarians visit each first-grade classroom and read the children a story (which each teacher gets to keep for their classroom library). After our visit to the schools, students take a field trip to the library where they tour the building, engage in a craft or activity, and read another story. This program is funded in by the Scripps Family Foundation for Education and the Arts
- Buddy Reading: Teen Advisory Board members are partnered with struggling young readers to strengthen reading skills. Sessions are run quarterly, including the summer months when kids tend to lose learning traction.
We hope you will consider donating to the Library’s Year End Appeal, which kicks off during our Giving Tuesday Campaign on December 2nd. An Angel Donor will match ALL donations (up to $1,000 per individual donor and $10,000 total) from now until December 2nd at midnight! You can mail in your donation; drop it off to the library; or donate online (all donations must be received on or before December 2nd). This is a unique opportunity to make your generous contribution go further in helping the Library.
Please take a few moments to read the reverse side of this letter to learn more about the Library. Have a safe and happy holiday season and we’ll see you soon!
Warmly,
Steven M. Temkin, President and Jessica Gueniat, Director
General Donations Throughout the Year
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