In 1905, Frederick Hazard, then president of the Solvay Process Company, made a gift that would impact education and learning in the Solvay-Geddes community for a century. Hazard, son of one of the founders of the company, donated $10,000 to match the contribution provided by Andrew Carnegie for construction of a new Solvay Public Library. Hazard’s and Carnegie’s contributions turned a community’s dream into reality.
Honeywell, the successor to the Solvay Process Company, today announced a new investment in learning for the community with a $15,000 donation to the library’s Centennial Building Campaign to support the Workplace Competency Committee’s corporate fund drive.
Breaking ground this summer, the addition will provide more space for a computer lab, a reference room, an expanded children’s area, and new meeting spaces.
“Honeywell is proud to support the renaissance of the Solvay Public Library,” said Syracuse Area Remediation Program Director John McAuliffe. “This grant will preserve the history of the Library while positioning it as a source of learning and community gathering for the entire Solvay-Geddes community well into the next century.”
“Not only is Honeywell honoring Solvay Process Company’s legacy of support, they speak to the future needs of our community,” added Cara Burton, director of the Solvay Public Library. “Honeywell’s donation highlights our Workplace Competency Committee’s corporate fund drive, and we anticipate that they are one of several companies that recognize the importance of lifelong learning.”
The Solvay Public Library currently houses the archives of the Solvay Process Company, donated to the library in 1987. The Solvay Process Collection index can be accessed at www.clrc.org/solvay.
To kick-off the last phase of the campaign, the Solvay Public Library will hold a business breakfast on February 28 in the Empire Room at the New York State Fairgrounds to discuss its workplace competency initiative and its plan to raise the level of literacy to meet the needs of area employers. The library has raised $800,000 towards its goal and will need to raise an additional $800,000 over the next five years.
For more information please call Cara Burton at 468-2441 or visit our website at www.onondaga-lake-initiatives.com.