Wednesday, December 11, 2024
C3 — Friends of the Everson Library treasurer Christel Bronsema and her dedication to community and education
C8 — A look at the founder and director of A Watered Garden, Cheryl Brown
supplement of the Lynden Tribune and Ferndale Record
By Merrick Parnell For the Tribune
Christel Bronsema has served as the treasurer for the Friends of the Everson Library for more than a decade. In that role, she has blended her passion for education, community and the library system.
As a dedicated volunteer, Bronsema helps raise funds for library programs and projects that fall outside the Whatcom County Library System budget.
The nonprofit organization supports the library through activities such as book sales and donations, and Bronsema is at the forefront of these efforts.
“I wanted to use my skills and love for the Whatcom County Library System to foster community,” Bronsema said. “The friends group aims to strengthen the Everson Library as a welcoming and vital educational resource for the entire community.”
An Everson resident for more than 50 years, Bronsema said she appreciates the town’s diverse population, which includes Native American, Hispanic, Russian and Ukrainian residents. Bronsema said she believes this cultural blend creates a strong, compassionate community.
“Even though we are a rural community, we embrace a rich diversity of cultures, including Native American, Hispanic, Russian, Ukrainian, and generations of families rooted in the Nooksack Valley. We are a compassionate and resourceful community with a big heart,” Bronsema said.
Before joining the Friends of the Everson Library, Bronsema was a teacher, business owner and medical transcriptionist.
Each of these experiences, she said, helped deepen her connection to the community she now serves.
The Friends of the Everson Library is vital to library programs that are not covered by the WCLS budget, such as special programs and new furnishings. Bronsema
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In her role as treasurer with Friends of the Everson Library, Christel Bronsema has blended her passion for education, community and the library system. (Bill Helm/Lynden Tribune)
oversees fundraising efforts, including the ongoing book sales in the library foyer and quarterly book sales. The organization is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit that encourages contributions to help support the library.
“We have been critical in improving library facilities,” Bronsema said. “Our primary fundraisers include ongoing book sales in the library foyer and quarterly book sales. We are a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit and welcome contributions.”
Bronsema’s leadership has drawn praise from her peers, including Paul Fullner, branch manager of the Everson Library.
“A solid treasurer is absolutely essential for any nonprofit. They are responsible for maintaining our 501(c)(3) status, monitoring accounts, handling expenses, and ensuring that all required reporting and renewals are completed,” Fullner said. “I haven’t been around long enough to know all the hats Christel has worn in her work with the Friends, but she’s been a faithful board member for years, helping to keep the group going during the pandemic and faithfully overseeing the Nowicke bequest funds that paid for much of the major library remodel that we completed in 2022.”
Photo at left: Retired Everson Library branch manager Eileen Shaw, left, and Friends of the Everson Library treasurer Christel Bronsema hold Nowicke bequest check. Photo on opposite page: Pictured at far right, Christel Bronsema and the Friends of the Everson Library Board stand with Branch Manager Eileen Shaw and hold their WCLS Outstanding Friends Award plaque in 2014. They were selected for this distinction after designing and constructing the Nooksack Valley Heritage Center in the Everson-McBeath Library to promote local history. (Photo courtesy of the Whatcom County Library System)
Bronsema’s commitment to her community extends beyond her work with the Friends of the Library. Her positive spirit and dedication are evident to those who work with her, such as Christine Perkins, executive director of WCLS.
“She is soft-spoken and thoughtful and always looks for ways to bring sunshine and positivity to the community. It is clear she cares deeply about the people in Everson,” Perkins said. “She continues to look for ways to assist the Whatcom County Library System and is participating in our Citizens’ Advisory Committee to help us address upcoming budget challenges. I am so grateful for Christel’s dedication to libraries and our community.”
For Bronsema, the library’s ability to serve the entire community is a key motivator in her role.
“I appreciate our connection with the diverse community in a safe and welcoming environment. The library staff are knowledgeable and caring, ensuring excellent customer service. They actively engage with patrons, making the library a vital part of our community,” Bronsema said.
With a passion for education and community service, Bronsema continues to impact the Everson Library, ensuring it remains a valuable resource for future generations.
“By way of introduction my name is Gordon Plotts, and I am currently serving as the chairperson for the Lynden Heritage Museum Endowment Foundation. Our board of directors are local volunteers, committed to caring for the invested funds that support the Lynden Heritage Museum. Today, I want to thank all of you, my fellow community members, who currently and over the past years have made it possible for our endowment to grow to over two million dollars. Without your generous support we could not provide quarterly distributions to the Museum that ensure its continued operation.
As we approach year end please consider donating to the endowment. Every financial gift is immediately put to work in our portfolio increasing
the amount we can distribute. Donations can be given online at the Museum’s website or directly to the Museum. Another way community members can provide for the Museum’s future is through a bequest as part of your estate planning. We have been the beneficiary of bequests in the recent past and they are so helpful and so appreciated. They also ensure that your family’s legacy will always be remembered and honored.
We will be inviting you, our fellow community members, to an evening at the Museum in late April or May, focusing on bequest planning and gift giving to our endowment. Please contact me if you have any questions or if I can be of assistance.”
Gordon Plotts, 360-815-6028
By Evan Samsill For the Tribune
Until early January, the Lynden Community/Senior Center will be closed for repairs. Until then, meals are available by delivery only and are prepared each weekday at Sonlight Community Church. (Photos courtesy Evan Samsill)
This Christmas season as director at Lynden Community/Senior Center has put me at the forefront of a lot of changes happening directly downtown.
Changes in any sort of manner, whether in family, work, location, even simple habit and routine can profoundly affect our day to day lives, mood and outlook.
In a year full of changes, and a season that
can sometime feel in flux, I think for those of you, and myself included, it is worth looking at some of reminders that community is more than just the physical address or location.
As most reading this might know, the community center downtown closed for construction just before Halloween. This is a huge change for hundreds of folks in Lynden and the surrounding area. What I have seen in this time period is how folks adapt and react to this.
I have seen dedicated people set up at
Meadow Green to gather and sing hymns –and another day where you may hear songs such as Hey Jude – blessing the folks there with music, laughter and fellowship.
I have seen folks gather at the library for Spanish classes, for Tai Chi and other support groups. They continue to connect, push and inspire each other.
I have seen and heard people gather in the restaurants here as well – people meeting for food and drinks in places such as Rustler’s, The Mill, Avenue Bread and others to share stories and plan holidays.
We have had churches like Sonlight Community and Lynden United Methodist open their doors for groups and gatherings, and a kitchen for us to provide meals.
We have had institutions like Jansen Art Center and the Lynden Heritage Museum host me, our board and members of the community as places to gather, plan and celebrate accomplishments together.
And I say this, as I write these words inside Eucatastrophe, a place where study groups, our committees and sometimes my own office work have taken place.
In the midst of thinking of all the places where I’ve gathered this season, I cannot tell you how many times I have heard “I have never been there,” or “I didn’t even know about this.” Oftentimes I can get into a routine myself where I can’t seem to see the forest or the trees. I list these places off and visualize in my head the proximity of locations here in Lynden, a map full of not just addresses, but people knit together and seeking connection and community.
And I say this to you, the reader, if this is a season of change for you, there are so many places to find that. I encourage you to seek out in this abundance where you find your people, and where your sense of belonging is this season, and establish those in anticipation of not just Christmas, but a new year with further possibilities.
-- Evan Samsill is director of the Lynden Community/ Senior Center
By Racquel Muncy For the Tribune
If someone had told Cheryl Brown 30 years ago she would lead a nonprofit in Everson, she probably would have laughed.
In 2001 she helped start Children’s Ministry Garden out of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Everson, which transitioned into A Watered Garden Family Learning Center by 2003.
Brown said at the same time they were transitioning, the church held leadership classes where she was able to learn how to run a nonprofit. She said they taught everything from grant writing and setting up a board of directors to creating the charter that would guide the organization.
Also around the same time, Brown said she was planning to move states and was in the process of selling her house. She said she planned to start a similar organization where they planned to move, but when the sale of her house fell through the decision was made to stick around and become the founder and director of A Watered Garden.
“It was a divine appointment,” she said. “I was meant to be here.”
The name came from Isaiah 58:11: “The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sunscorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”
Brown said this is what they sought to be in the community, to help create a well-watered garden of individuals who have everything to meet their needs and the education to escape poverty.
“It’s a garden of families,” she said.
To get started, Brown said they went to the community to see what the need was and quickly found the need for language services.
“A lot of people responded,” she said of the need for more language classes.
Brown was 50 years old when she founded the organization and said working with the people, hearing their stories and forming relationships with the community has kept her feeling energetic for the past 21 years.
“Here I am, I’m 71 and I’m still feeling young,” she said. “We all lift each other up.”
She said when the organization first started the community rallied around it — people were coming to her asking if they could volunteer their time, many of which were retired professionals wanting to share their skills and expertise and teachers.
“One thing led to another and so many people came together,” Brown said. “Everybody wants to see all those gaps filled and provide the bridge that’s needed.”
Not only did people come to volunteer, but people also came knocking interested in the classes.
Brown has been a school bus driver for the Nooksack Valley School District for a long time and said she believes this helped to foster an early sense of trust with the local families.
Now, A Watered Garden continues its language services by teaching English to native Spanish speakers and conversational Spanish for native English speakers.
Other services have grown as well, such as the addition of a community garden, GED courses, citizenship test preparation and nutrition classes.
This year the organization has their first ever intern with Sadie Elias.
Elias said working with Brown has been inspiring both in how she stepped into her role and how she sees God working in all the small ways and the little miracles that happen each day.
She said it takes a special kind of person to step into a community that may feel uncomfortable at first, especially as Brown speaks very little Spanish, and provides so much love and comfort and care.
“She’s stay and she’s invested,” Elias said. “She’s been very inspiring.”
After more than two decades, Brown said the stories she hears from the families and especially the children keep her going. “
Brown said she has heard stories of a child having to translate to their parent that their parent has cancer, seen the pride of someone writing their name and felt the joy of a family harvesting in the community garden.
“That’s what motivates us,” she said. “This has grown so much bigger than I could ask or even think.”
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$500 Real Cash drawing at 7pm each night, then $200 every half hour through 9:30pm. Finally, at 10pm end the night with another $500 Real Cash drawing! Earn 25 points to get an
