Hi friends! Emily here.

I hope everyone had a great day celebrating eggs and bunnies! I got to see my nieces and their new puppy, and I ate a ton of candy. Overall, a nice day.

Just wanted to remind everyone of our very exciting Lunch & Learn at 2:00pm on Friday, April 10. Technically, it’s a “Lunch and then Learn later in the afternoon.” We are trying out a new time to accommodate a few of our members who are commonly double-booked in the mornings. We will see how this new time slot goes!

If you’d like to join us for lunch, we’re meeting at 12:00pm at Chavez Mexican Restaurante (5494 E State St, Rockford, IL 61108). We’ll then head over to RU for a 2:00pm presentation titled “How to Write a Grant That Funders Actually Want to Read” from my very talented friend, Sarah Lambert.

Please register here on L2.

Sarah has worked in Rockford’s nonprofit sector since 2012, first at Klehm Arboretum and Botanic Garden and then in the grants department at the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois (CFNIL). Throughout her ten years at CFNIL she managed the region’s largest private scholarship program as well as numerous partnerships, events, and community collaborations. Since 2018, she has overseen CFNIL’s entire grantmaking portfolio as the Vice President of Programs and Community Investment. She has been a sought-after expert in her field for professional groups such as the National Scholarship Providers Association and the Alliance of Illinois Community Foundations, and has brought her leadership and expertise to multiple community initiatives and task forces, including Winning Start Winnebago and the Mayor's Hunger Luncheon.

Don’t forget to add Lire Rockford’s screening of The Librarians to your calendar! We can’t wait to see you on Thursday, April 16 at 5:00pm at Rockford Public Library’s Nordlof Center in downtown Rockford.

The Librarians is a documentary that captures the frontline struggle for the freedom to read. As book challenges escalate across the country, this film connects the dots between heated board meetings and the extremist movements fueling censorship efforts.

It is a chilling cautionary tale of professionals facing harassment, threats, and even criminalization—yet refusing to let their rallying cry for intellectual freedom be silenced.

To view/print the event flier, click here.

Special Q&A Discussion
Stay after the credits for a deep-dive conversation featuring:

Martha Hickson: Featured librarian and advocate (joining via Zoom)
Dr. Emily Knox: Author and censorship expert (joining via Zoom)
Kelly Jensen: Editor and advocate
Monica Harris: Executive Director of RAILS

Thank you all for all of the amazing work you do. Our libraries are so important to our communities, now more than ever. We are so proud to be a part of such a talented and dedicated group of intellectual freedom fighters.

<3 Emily and Steph