RAISE YOUR COFFEE MUG IN A TOAST:

GRAND OPENING FOR CUP AND CHAUCER COFFEE BAR

SET FOR SEPTEMBER 22

Community leaders will join in a ceremonial pouring of the coffee at a grand opening celebration for the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library’s recently opened Cup and Chaucer coffee bar on Wednesday, September 22, at 9 a.m., at the library.

The celebration of the completion of the coffee bar, located near the main entrance of the library, will also include a reading from The Canterbury Tales, a novel by the famed 14^th-century author Geoffrey Chaucer, who inspired the facility’s name.

Donations of time and funding from seven area foundations and various businesses in the community ensured that the coffee bar would become a reality. Through a unique arrangement, the coffee bar is operated by workers from the Arnold Center, Inc., a local organization that provides training and employment opportunities for disabled and challenged persons. This set-up allows the workers to gain valuable job experience and, in the process, provides a popular service to the community.

“The one-of-a-kind partnership between the library and the Arnold Center has had such a positive response from the community,” said Library Director Melissa Barnard. “People in the community have really embraced the idea that two non-profits have come together to benefit each other. Providing a productive work experience for Arnold Center clients is a win-win for them and for the community.”

The Cup and Chaucer coffee bar is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 7 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (September through May).

The grand opening is the culmination of three years of discussion, planning and fundraising efforts by many in the community. The idea for a coffee bar started percolating at a Library Board meeting in September 2001. After some research by Library staff, it was determined that there may not be enough business to entice a private vendor to operate a coffee bar at the library.

At that point, the Arnold Center approached the Library Board about a possible partnership. Funds from the sale of coffee, tea, cappuccino and other beverages and light snacks cover workers’ wages and other expenses, with profits divided evenly between the Arnold Center and the City of Midland.

For more information, contact the library at 989-837-3430 or visit the library’s website at www.midland-mi.org.