Donors step forward to pay for Waukegan library sculpture

In November, the Waukegan Public Library added three new sculptures to the Stimson Sculpture Garden in the library's courtyard on the east side of the building in downtown Waukegan.

Since only two of the sculptures were paid for by private donors, the library began to seek funding for the third sculpture, “Frog Prince Reading Book.”

After a call to action in the community, three generous donors came forward to fully finance the $4,240 sculpture.

Half the cost of the Frog Prince sculpture was paid for by Jayben Metals Inc.

The remaining funds were donated by Elaine Manzke Eagon in memory of her husband, Paul H. Eagon, and Ann Hughes-Johnson and R. Vincent Johnson in honor of Judge John L. Hughes and Jean Johnson.

A dedication ceremony with plaques will take place in the spring.

The Waukegan Public Library is now looking for donations to help with its new “Deck the Walls” fundraising campaign. All funds raised will go toward tripling the programming and classroom space in the library's Literacy Suite in order to meet the increasing literacy needs of the community.

Open since January 2010, the Literacy Suite offers free group classes and one-on-one tutoring for Lake County adults wanting to improve basic reading or writing skills. Classes include adult basic education, family literacy for parents and their young children, computer classes in Spanish and English, Conversational ELL for English language learners, and Spanish pre-GED classes.

To learn more about the library's literacy services, call Josh Anderson at (847) 623-2041, ext. 225.

For questions about the “Deck the Walls” campaign, contact Elizabeth Stearns at elizabethstearns@waukeganpl.infowww.waukeganpl.org;http://www.waukeganpl.org/[URL].

All donations are tax deductible and accepted through the library's foundation, a nonprofit with a registered 501(c)(3).[/URL]