The board of directors of the Friends of Queen Anne’s County Library is delighted to congratulate JoAnn Woodward, who won a handcrafted quilt being raffled off by the Friends.

The quilt was created by the Queen Bees–a group of quilters who live on the Eastern Shore and belong to the Annapolis Quilt Guild. The Queen Bees meet at Queen Anne’s County Library once a month to sew and quilt. The group made this quilt specifically to donate to the Friends of the Library to support its work in providing resources to the local library. The quilters are supporters of Queen Anne’s County Library, and the quilt was designed using the Library’s colors. The Chesapeake Star pattern of the quilt also reflected its local roots. Queen Bee member Lis Cockey explained, “Our group was happy to make this donation as a way to thank the library and staff for providing a safe and comfortable place to meet within the community.” This is the second quilt the group has made and donated to the Friends.

The Friends of the Library sold tickets for this one-of-a-kind prize throughout the summer and fall at both branches of the Library, at community events, and at Friends Book Sales. The final day of ticket sales occurred on Giving Tuesday–the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, when people are encouraged to consider making contributions to organizations that matter to them and to their community. This year, the Friends of the Library partnered with local dockside cafe Dessert First, who graciously invited the Friends to sell raffle tickets at the cafe on Giving Tuesday. In addition, Dessert First generously donated 25% of proceeds from that day to the Friends of the Library to bolster the Friends’ ongoing efforts to support the projects and programs of Queen Anne’s County Library. Longtime library-supporter Ms. Woodward was lucky enough to purchase her winning raffle ticket on Giving Tuesday while enjoying Dessert First’s offerings.

Connie Zillig, president of the Board of Directors of the Friends, expressed thanks to all those who made this effort such a success–the Queen Bees, Dessert First, and all of those community members who purchased raffle tickets. “We are excited that this fund-raiser will allow the Friends to support the Library’s efforts to reach more people in our community and to offer all Library users an expanded range of resources.”

Since its inception in 2003, the Friends of the Library has contributed almost $200,000 to Queen Anne’s County Library programs and projects. There are currently more than 400 members of the Friends of Queen Anne’s County Library, and new members are always welcomed to join.