Author Yaa Gyasi Headlined 2021 Fundraiser for Omaha Public Library
Signaling a welcomed step for a post-pandemic community, the Omaha Public Library Foundation returned to an in-person format for its 2021 fundraiser, Between the Lines with Yaa Gyasi.
Yaa Gyasi, left, with Jo Giles.
The event, held October 5, 2021, at Temple Israel, safely welcomed 120 guests to celebrate Omaha Public Library and the Omaha Public Library Foundation. The evening fundraiser featured a patron party, remarks by author Yaa Gyasi, and a book signing.
“During this trying time, we have learned how to count on each other, to reach out to one another, and the importance of community support,” said Jo Giles, Omaha Public Library Foundation board president and event emcee. “Omaha Public Library learned these lessons especially well last year, as our outstanding library staff managed to serve our Douglas County community from a distance, with the passion and care they are so well known for.”
Giles added: “At the Omaha Public Library Foundation, we were reminded of the generosity of our donors and friends. We gather here today humbled by the outpouring of your financial support. And we are privileged to have done exactly this kind of work – meeting the needs of Omaha Public Library and its patrons – for more than thirty-five years.”
Click here to view photos from Between the Lines with Yaa Gyasi.
Dick Kelley, a founding member of the Omaha Public Library Foundation Board of Directors and former member of the Omaha Public Library Board of Trustees, received the 2021 Barbara Bock-Mavis Leadership Award.
Dick Kelley, left, and Barbara Bock-Mavis.
An investment advisor and Omaha native, Kelley has also served on the boards of organizations such as the Westside Foundation, Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital Memorial Foundation, and Mammel Family Foundation. Kelley and his late wife, Helen, have been champions of education and literacy throughout their sixty years of marriage. Helen passed away in 2020.
“Dick has been such an asset to our beloved library foundation,” said Eileen Wirth, who presented Kelley the award. “He has assisted with fundraising, connected donors and members of the community to Omaha Public Library. And he has been such a vocal and supportive advocate of the work of the Omaha Public Library Foundation. Few carry the lifelong passion of public libraries and the Omaha Public Library Foundation like Dick Kelley.”
To recognize Kelley’s decades of service, the Omaha Public Library Foundation made a $500 donation to Omaha Public Library, to purchase children’s books in memory of Helen Kelley.
The award recognizes longtime service from an Omaha Public Library Foundation volunteer. Previous honorees include Barbara Bock-Mavis (2017), Jim Kineen (2018), Eileen Wirth (2019), and Freddie Gray (2020).
Attendees enjoyed a conversation between Gyasi and Giles, which focused on writing and storytelling, followed by questions from the audience.
Yaa Gyasi.
Gyasi is the author of the highly acclaimed debut novel Homegoing and a recipient of the National Book Foundation's 2016 "5 Under 35" Award. Gyasi was born in Ghana and raised in Huntsville, Alabama. She holds a BA in English from Stanford University and an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she held a Dean’s Graduate Research Fellowship. Her second novel, Transcendent Kingdom, was published in September 2020. She lives in New York City.
Event proceeds from Between the Lines with Yaa Gyasi will support Omaha Public Library programs and services.
Previous authors featured at the annual Omaha Public Library Foundation fundraiser include Margaret Atwood (2014), Wally Lamb (2015), Tobias Wolff (2016), Hope Jahren (2017), Amy Thielen (2018), Angie Thomas (2019), and Elaine Weiss (2020).
Stayed tuned for details on 2022’s author. Contact the Omaha Public Library Foundation at foundation@omahalibrary.org or (402) 444-4589.