Highlights from 2022!

Message from FOPLA President, Shari Hill 

2022 was a very successful year for FOPLA. Our many volunteers stepped up with exceptional flexibility and we reopened all 29 store locations before the end of the year. We also continued to conduct sales through our e-commerce site: www.kindreads.com as well as our monthly (Mammoth) book sales. 

Thanks to the generous donations of the public and the tireless efforts of our volunteers, our financial contribution ($160K) to the Ottawa Public Library (OPL) is five times higher than last year!  

Examples of how OPL used the funds in 2022 included: 

• outreach to people experiencing homelessness, 
• providing early literacy programming supplies to adults  
• coordinating a program to celebrate young artists, poets and writers known as “Awesome Authors”.  

On the topic of the ‘Awesome Authors”, FOPLA has proudly supported this for the last 16 years. On a personal note, I had the pleasure of meeting some of the prize winners as we handed out the compilation of their works in an anthology known as “pot-pourri”. Its safe to say that creativity thrives amongst our Ottawa Youth! 

You can learn more about how to get involved or donate to FOPLA on our website: www.fopla-aabpo.ca. Also, visit our online store: www.kindreads.com. 

Despite fluctuations in the markets, The FOPLA Investment Fund Committee had a relatively stable year in 2022.

The FOPLA investment Fund was managed by an investment management firm, Doherty & Associates Investment Council, with the oversight of the Investment Fund Committee.

In 2022, the Fund produced approximately $20,000 in income from interest, dividends, and other sources. The market value of the Fund  ended the year off at $690,725.

With the reopening of all 29 of our stores, FOPLA conducted an ongoing volunteer recruitment campaign. We are fortunate to have a strong roster of dedicated  volunteers who keep our operations running smoothly and are essential to the ongoing success of FOPLA’s mandate to support OPL.

We also shared as much FOPLA content as possible on social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) to help promote our new e-commerce site, Kind Reads and to get the word out on our store re-openings and the return of our Mammoth sales.