When Victor branch library staff arrived to work on Friday morning, November 12, they were so pleased with their squeaky-clean work environment that they broke out in a happy dance.
Librarian Tanya Alexander, who assisted the Friends of Valley of the Tetons Library (FVTL) with coordinating Clean-Up Day for the Victor branch, sent a short video of dancing librarians to FVTL, along with the message: “This was the happy dance from the Victor staff today!!!”
Though FVTL organized and oversaw the library’s cleaning event, the thanks for eliciting the librarians’ expression of joy belongs to Silver Star Communications’ community service project volunteers. On Thursday, November 11, eight Silver Star employees spent most of the day dusting, vacuuming, sanitizing, and polishing all the surfaces of the library. The tedious and time-consuming deep clean included the kitchen, bathrooms, windows, furnishings and even removing all the books from their shelves to clean every inch of shelving.
“They (library staff) said the air felt cleaner and brighter,” said Alexander. She shared that projects such as cleaning windows, sills, and tracks, or cleaning shelves behind all the books is work that staff might not have time for on a day to day basis. “It was a huge sense of relief,” she said.
Lisa Grimsley, Marketing Administrative Assistant at Silver Star Communications, is responsible for coordinating the company’s community service projects. She seeks out service projects for organizations within Silver Star’s service area, which includes eastern Idaho and western Wyoming.
“Employees aren’t required to participate, but highly encouraged,” said Grimsley, who’s already cultivating service projects for 2022. “Employees come from all over the service area and can find a project that they’re passionate about.”
Organizations they’ve recently worked with include Trouts Unlimited, Friends of the Teton River, and the Raptor Center in Wilson, WY. Projects are limited to one project per organization, per year and include a minimum of five employees working for a minimum of four hours. This year, 101 employees have completed a total of 20 projects. This was the second time Silver Star has worked with FVTL. In 2020, Silver Star volunteers assisted in moving and setting up the library’s Makerspace to its new location.
“Employees love it!” said Grimsley, about the projects. “It’s good team-building.”
Grimsley has already committed to working with FVTL on another library project in January 2022: packing and moving the contents of the Victor branch basement in preparation for a remodel of the space.
FVTL President Laura Curtis said the next project will be a joint effort, where FVTL board members will work alongside Silver Star staff.
“We are so grateful that Silver Star has agreed to allow us to collaborate with them,” Curtis said. “Packing everything up is going to be a huge project due to the volume of items stored in the basement. We know these tasks are not glamorous, so we really appreciate the positive attitude, energy, and enthusiasm they bring to the projects. We hope they realize what a big impact they’ve made for us and for the entire community they serve.”
(To learning more about FVTL volunteer opportunities please visit Volunteer)