U-Haul lends a helping hand to Library support group

The old adage “A friend in need is a friend indeed” came to fruition this month, thanks to the U-Haul Moving and Storage Center and the Friends of the Rochester Hills Public Library.

Like many other community organizations, the Friends’ library support activities were severely limited by the Covid-19 pandemic limitations. That included collecting donations of used book, CDs, DVDs, games and other recorded media, unable to be collected since early March. At least one of the scheduled sales had to be cancelled and future sale dates are still to be determined.

But many people used the stay-at-home pandemic time to clean out homes and the library expects a large influx of material. So the Friends needed to be ready for the tidal wave of donations. The average book sale sells about 30,000 items. However, library access to Friends volunteers remains limited for health and safety reasons That means taking in and moving and sorting donation materials is slower and more difficult.

One solution emerging from a Friends board Zoom meeting was a suggestion to get a large truck to take in material in the library’s parking lot and then shuttling the cargo into the library when the Friends have more library access and volunteers to process the materials. Patrons that wish to make donations can now call the used book line, (248) 650-7178, and leave a message. A volunteer will call them back with information about a time for them to bring their donations to the library. Remember, the inside of the library building itself, as of June 21, remains closed. (Go to rhpl.org for the latest updates.)

Friends publicist John Smyntek offered to pose the question to the Library’s neighbor a few blocks away, the U-Haul Center at 6875 N. Rochester Rd. And to the rescue came center General Manger Bethany Mosher.

“We want to be a good neighbor and part of the community,” Mosher said. And with a little help from one of U-Haul’s affiliated centers, a 17-foot truck was brought in from U-Haul’s Inkster lot for the library’s use.

Said Friends book sale chair Ann Gruenewald: “We are really appreciative of Bethany’s efforts on our behalf. It will really help us to get up and running again faster.” Said Friends president Ron Meegan: “This was a great example of a local Rochester business stepping up to help a community organization in need. We are very thankful for their generosity.”