The mission of the Friends of the Andy Ausonio Library is to maintain an association of persons interested in the Castroville Library; to foster community participation in, support for, and cooperation with the Library in developing Library services and facilities for the community; and to solicit and encourage gifts, endowments and bequests.
Castroville library [Andy Ausonio Library] serves a host of small unincorporated rural farming and residential communities. The Friends of the Andy Ausonio Library are a non-profit 501(c) 3 driven by the good hearts of volunteers since 1985. We help to provide internet and literacy services but we need a second study room. People in our communities are in need of a safe and quiet place to learn and hold meetings. The best way to end cycles of poverty in our communities is to foster access. We are seeking funds to build a private space within our library building. This is a one time cost that will benefit many generations to come. Providing our communities with a place to take tests, attend virtual job interviews and hold telehealth appointments is a necessity for progress. Please help us fund a study room so we can promote a better future for all.
The budget for our project is currently estimated at $90,000. The final amount will be set by the County of Monterey per their protocols. Our library serves multiple unincorporated areas which means we do not have city services nor city resources. These areas include Castroville, Moss Landing, Royal Oaks, Elkhorn and other surrounding rural farming and residential communities. Many of these communities have the highest poverty rates in the County of Monterey. This project seeks funding to build a welcoming and secure space inside our library. Castroville and all of the greater North Monterey County will directly benefit from this inclusive space. Cycles of poverty in our communities are directly linked to a lack of resources, education and career prospects. The provision of a secure study/meeting room in Castroville is essential to Monterey County’s poverty reduction efforts.
I am a student at UC Davis, and this wouldn’t have been possible without access to the resources from the Castroville Library. However I never had a private place to take my tests, every time I tried to reserve the study room it was always already booked up. I live at home in the summer and there is no space for me to have a private study or test session. My parents are farm workers. I really hope we can get another study room soon.
- Dulce Nolasco, Castroville
