For Immediate Release
October 26, 2004
Contacts:
703-324-8313
703-324-8300

Library After-School Programs Funded by The O'Shaughnessy Hurst Memorial Foundation

The O'Shaughnessy Hurst Memorial Foundation.Fairfax, VA - On Monday, October 25th, the Fairfax Library Foundation (FCPLF) accepted a $5,000 gift from the O'Shaughnessy Hurst Memorial Foundation to fund after-school programs at the Woodrow Wilson Library in Falls Church.

The O'Shaughnessy family owned a dairy farm in the Bailey's Crossroads area near the present-day interchange of Route 7 and Columbia Pike. There was even an O'Shaughnessy Drive that was vacated when the Babies R Us store was developed in the mid-1990s. Thanks to solid investment planning, Charlie and Mary O'Shaughnessy had a well-funded estate and established the Foundation to make philanthropic gifts in the Northern Virginia area. Fairfax County's Mason District Supervisor, Penny Gross, made the check presentation on behalf of the Foundation.

"I want to thank the O'Shaughnessy Hurst Memorial Foundation and its Board of Directors for selecting the expansion of after school programs at the Woodrow Wilson Library," Gross says, "This Fairfax County Public Library branch has an extraordinarily meaningful presence in the Culmore/Bailey's Crossroads community."

Programs for at-risk children include an after-school Homework Help center, a summer literacy program, and special programs with guest authors, speakers and entertainers. The contribution from the O'Shaughnessy Hurst Foundation will expand the current programs to serve more children.
"Private support such as this generous gift from The O'Shaughnessy Hurst Memorial Foundation is so important," states FCPLF Executive Director Bobbi Longworth, "It increases the positive impact that our Library has for the community beyond what limited public funding can provide."

FCPLF invites private donations for critically-needed books and services to meet increasing demands of those who live, work and study within the county. For more information, call FCPLF at 703-324-8300 or .