DAR installs Little Free Library at Aurora Vets Center

As part of the National Salute to Veteran Patients, the Aurora Vet Center is hosting a grand opening/ribbon cutting for a new Little Free Library at the center at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 750 Shoreline Drive, Aurora.

The new Little Free Library was installed by the Daughters of the American Revolution Aurora Chapter Literacy Promotion Committee, spearheaded by Laurie Sutherland. It's the first Little Free Library located at a facility of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and it's the first DAR-sponsored Little Free Library that promotes literacy for veterans.

The DAR Aurora Chapter developed a partnership with the Aurora Public Library to send donated books they receive but can't use, such as duplicate titles, to the Little Free Library. Chuck Nelson, the liaison from the Aurora mayor's office to the Aurora Veterans Advisory Council, introduced the DAR Aurora Chapter to the Aurora Vet Center, formerly known as the DuPage County Vet Center.

The chapter found Virgil Hyte, a lifelong woodworking craftsman and uncle to two Aurora chapter members, to design and custom build the Little Free Library for the Aurora Vet Center's waiting room. The library holds about 100 books and is styled as a four-shelf bookcase featuring the charter sign No. 48279 from Little Free Library.

The Aurora Vet Center serves a multicounty area in the Western suburbs and provides a range of services and programs to local veterans, including mental health counseling, job placement assistance, and information and referrals. It's one of 11 such centers in Illinois and is affiliated with Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital.

The library was a yearlong project for the 120-member DAR Aurora Chapter, which hopes to install more Little Free Libraries and has explored partnerships with Hope For Tomorrow and Dryhootch.