Mineral City Library holds weekly Queen of Hearts fundraiser

The Friends of the Mineral City Nicole Donant Library is holding an ongoing Queen of Hearts fundraiser with tickets being drawn every Friday at 7 p.m.

The first card was drawn Friday, Feb. 9, and drawings will continue until someone wins the pot.

The fundraiser looks to be off to a good start, with enough tickets purchased in the first week to bring the pot to $652. Since the Queen of Hearts was not drawn Feb. 9, the pot will continue to build as more people buy tickets. The winner, whenever it is drawn, will split the pot half and half with the library.

Tickets are available at the library at 8503 S. High St. during library hours, which are Tuesday through Friday from 1-5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A little history

The Mineral City Nicole Donant Library is not part of the Tuscarawas County Public Library System and receives no funding from library levies. The independent library was made possible thanks to a teenager named Nicole Donant.

At age 14 Donant conducted a book drive as a Girl Scout community service project with the hope of collecting 1,000 books to start a lending library in Mineral City. Over the years Donant collected more than 6,000 books, but the town still did not have a library.

In 2005 Donant, who has cerebral palsy, was chosen to appear on the NBC television show “Three Wishes.” When asked what her wish was, she didn’t wish something for herself or her family alone. Instead, Donant expressed her wish to host Amy Grant for a library in Mineral City, and her wish was granted.

The need

Terry Nill, president of the fundraising organization and Mineral City Council, said there is always something that needs to be repaired, built or purchased.

“Right now we need furnace repairs, and we’d like to update security,” he said. “Most people don’t understand that we are an independent library, so we have to explain it all the time. We don’t get any funding from the library system or anywhere else.”

Just last year the library opened an expanded and remodeled children’s section called Camp Read-A-Lot featuring a camping and outdoor theme.

Updates on the fundraiser including all cards drawn and the size of the pot will be posted on the library’s Facebook page. The public is welcome to attend the drawings, but the winner does not need to be present.

For more information on the fundraiser, library programs or membership in the Friends of the Mineral City Nicole Donant Library, call 330-859-9100.