THUNDER BAY — Shelter House is looking for sponsors to help them purchase two rolling, lockable cabinets for a mobile library.
Champagne Thomson, development manager for Shelter House, told Newswatch that Shelter House gets approximately 70 individuals in the evenings; therefore, a mobile library and art station would give them something to do.
“We're really trying to lean into having different initiatives and different activities that clients can do. Recognizing that reading and artwork are amazing forms of self-care, and assist in the healing journey quite a lot, we’re currently trying to create an initiative to have a mobile library and art station,” she said.
Thomson said each library cabinet would cost $850, and the art station would cost $3,000, which would also include one locking cabinet, three foldable tables, three foldable benches, as well as three non-slip drop cloths.
In return, sponsors would get their logo placed permanently on the cabinet and their names added to Shelter House’s digital donor board on their website as a small thank you.
Thomson said a local bookstore, Loud Women’s Collective, has already donated books, but without the cabinets, the books are stored in bags and boxes in her office.
“We don't have the appropriate way to store them, to showcase them, to get them out to clients in a consistent way. Because we're also really big on consistency as care, and so if I only do it Monday to Friday when I'm here, it's not fair to the folks who wouldn't be able to access it on the weekend because my office is locked,” said Thomson.
The mobile art station will be program-based and stationary, but the library could be wheeled out into the lobby, where clients choose a book to read in Shelter House’s courtyard.
“We recognize that some of our folks aren't able to go to the library because perhaps they've been barred from that space, or they don't feel comfortable in that space, so we're really trying to make sure that everyone has access to these pieces,” said Thomson.
For information on how to sponsor, email Thomson.
