South Brunswick Library celebrates the beginning of their fundraising effort with Merriment, Music and Merlot.
By: Melissa Morgan
Only one thing could be better than having an evening filled with fine food, wine, music and mingling, said South Brunswick Library Director Lorraine Jackson doing it for a good cause.
Ms. Jackson said Merriment, Music and Merlot at Miele, the public kickoff of South Brunswick Library’s facility expansion fund-raising campaign, will be an opportunity to do just that.
The event, scheduled for Thursday, May 8, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Miele Inc. showroom on Route 1, will feature cooking demonstrations by area chefs, food sampling and wine tasting. It was organized by the Library Foundation and Friends of the Library, and proceeds will benefit the library’s proposed $4.2 million expansion project.
The Township Council approved a 16,458-square-foot expansion in July 2001 that is slated to include a new children’s programming area for events such as storytelling and puppet shows, an 18-station computer lab, an unfinished basement for storage, a children’s computer lab called the Cyber Zone, a young adult homework room, a separate audio-visual room and more room for book stacks.
The library will receive $855,000 in state funding and about $3 million in township taxes to cover the expansion costs, but Ms. Jackson said the Library Board agreed to set a goal of $500,000 to be generated through a fund-raising campaign called Enriching Families/Strengthening Community.
Ms. Jackson said the first leg of the campaign involved generating more than $250,000 in cash and pledges from area corporations and other funding sources. The board is now ready to open the campaign to the public for additional support.
"We hate asking for money, so we wanted to first be sure of our success," she said. "We have reached our goal of $250,000, so we now feel comfortable going ahead with the public campaign."
Though Ms. Jackson said the library was able to eventually meet its corporate donations goal, finding contributors took much longer than expected.
"Things are moving along, but it’s been tough," she said.
Ms. Jackson said the difficulties raising money stemmed from poor timing. She said planning for the campaign began right before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.
"It took the focus off other causes and put it on that," she said. "Between that and the war, it’s become increasingly difficult to plan events."
Ms. Jackson said a bad economy also caused problems. "We hoped to start it (the public campaign) earlier, but we had set backs," she said. "It’s difficult when people didn’t anticipate working as hard as we had to because of the economic times. We couldn’t go to ask corporations for donations who were having layoffs of their own, so this made it a little more difficult."
Ms. Jackson said construction on the expansion didn’t start yet, but architects are beginning to design the final documents to present to the Library Board. She’s hoping construction will begin in the fall.
Despite the tougher-than-expected fund-raising efforts, Ms. Jackson said remaining dedicated to the campaign was worth the wait.
"For the people who have given donations, the attitude has been so terrific," she said. "We feel very lucky that these people are able to offer their services."
Ms. Jackson said the corporate donors will be announced and thanked at the upcoming event at Miele. It will also be one of the first opportunities to see what the expansion will encompass and look like, she said.
Chefs Tino Procaccini of Principessa Restaurant in Kingston and Jennifer Willard of Miele, Inc. will use Miele’s showroom demonstration kitchen to create a unique menu for guests. Glendale Liquors of Kendall Park will complement the menu with a variety of wines. Ms. Jackson said there will be more than 100 wines for people to taste.
Also featured will be drawings for door prizes, including a Miele dishwasher and vacuum cleaner.
Ms. Jackson hopes to get at least 150 people to attend the event.
"It’s a wonderful opportunity for the community to get together and have a very nice and relaxing evening out for a good cause," she said.
Tickets for Merriment, Music and Merlot at Miele can be purchased by calling Carl Heffington at (732) 329-4000, ext. 287 or e-mailing [email protected]. The cost per person is $50, and advanced reservations are recommended.

