During the Valley Grande City Council meeting May 3, the council came together to discuss donations that he town could make.

One of those donations was to the Selma-Dallas County Public Library and its children’s summer reading program.

“We have donated to the library for several years because they provide a service to our community since they are the only library in the Dallas County area,” said Valley Grande Councilwoman Libby Ezelle. “Becky (Nichols) mentioned that she would like us to donate the money early this year for craft supplies for the summer because they do a lot with the children.”

Nichols, the director of the Selma-Dallas County Library, said the money donated by Valley Grande will be used to buy books that will be used this summer and throughout the next year.

“We typically spend the $2,000 on books for the children,” said Nichols. “This will help in allowing us to buy books that will not only be used by the children in the summer, but will roll on into the fall.”

This year’s summer reading program, Summer of Stars, will hold programs from June 2 to July 21,gives the library a chance to bring children in and start their reading experience.

“This kind of thing we do is fun and educational,” said Nichols. “And we will have a great time, but the main challenge is to get children excited about reading and books.”

To do that, Nichols said the library will hold many events to engage children in reading.

“The summer reading program is packed full of stuff to do,” said Nichols. “But that all costs money, so their contribution is very important to us.”

According to Ezelle, the council normally waits until later in the budget year to make their donations.

“Since our budget was in good shape, we went ahead and made the donation,” said Ezelle. “We also made donations to the local schools because of the service they do for our children.”

The $2,000 donation will come out of the city’s miscellaneous funds, which are specifically budgeted for donations each year.